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Longirostravis
''Longirostravis'' is a genus of enantiornithean birds which existed during the early Cretaceous period (around 125 million years ago) and is known from fossils found in the middle or upper Yixian Formation in Yixian County, People's Republic of China. It is known from a single specimen housed in the collections of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (specimen number IVPP V 11309) representing the type species ''Longirostravis hani''. Based on this specimen, ''L. hani'' appears to have been a "quail-sized" bird with a long, tapering and slightly curved snout tipped with five pairs of small, conical teeth. The long, narrow snout may have been used for mud probing, an ecology similar to modern oystercatchers. ''L. hani'' had an unusually-shaped breast bone (sternum) with a pair of three-pronged projections shaped somewhat like moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Longipterygids
Longipterygidae is a family of early enantiornithean avialans from the Early Cretaceous epoch of China. All known specimens come from the Jiufotang Formation and Yixian Formation, dating to the early Aptian age, 125-120 million years ago. Description Longipterygids are characterized by an extremely long, toothed snout (making up over 60% of the total skull length), in which the teeth are restricted to the tips of the jaws. The snouts were straight but slightly concave at a point behind the nostrils, and the bones of the snout tip were solid. Their pygostyles, the series of fused vertebrae in the tail, were unusually large, and longer than the foot bones. The feet of longipterygids were also specialized relative to other enantiornitheans. Where most enantiornitheans had a long middle toe with a "knuckle" (trochlea) that extended beyond the outer two, the toes of longipterygids were even in length, and attached to the rest of the foot at the same level. This configuration is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
