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Avialae
Avialae ("bird wings") is a clade containing the only living dinosaurs, the birds, and their closest relatives. It is usually defined as all theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds (Aves) than to Deinonychosauria, deinonychosaurs, though alternative definitions are occasionally used (see below). ''Archaeopteryx lithographica'', from the late Jurassic Period Solnhofen Formation of Germany, is usually considered the earliest known avialan which may have had the capability of powered flight; a minority of studies have suggested that it might have been a deinonychosaur instead. Several older (but non flight-capable) possible avialans are known from the late Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of China, dated to about 160 million years ago. Definition Most researchers define Avialae as branch-based clade, though definitions vary. Many authors have used a definition similar to "all theropods closer to birds than to ''Deinonychus''."Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight Bird skeleton, skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 Order (biology), orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have Bird wing, wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the Flightless bird, loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemism, endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeopteryx
''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird'') is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaîos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" or "wing". Between the late 19th century and the early 21st century, ''Archaeopteryx'' was generally accepted by palaeontologists and popular reference books as the oldest known bird (member of the group Avialae). Older potential avialans have since been identified, including ''Anchiornis'', ''Xiaotingia'', '' Aurornis'', and '' Baminornis''. ''Archaeopteryx'' lived in the Late Jurassic around 150 million years ago, in what is now southern Germany, during a time when Europe was an archipelago of islands in a shallow warm tropical sea, much closer to the equator than it is now. Similar in size to a Eurasian magpie, with the largest individuals possibly attaining the size of a raven, the largest species of ''Archaeopteryx'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balaur Bondoc
''Balaur bondoc'' is a species of paravian theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period, in what is now Romania. It is the type species of the monotypic genus ''Balaur'', after the '' balaur'' (), a dragon of Romanian folklore. The specific name ''bondoc'' () means "stocky", so ''Balaur bondoc'' means "stocky dragon" in Romanian. This name refers to the greater musculature that ''Balaur'' had compared to its relatives. The genus, which was first described by scientists in August 2010, is known from two partial skeletons (including the type specimen). Some researchers suggest that the taxon might represent a junior synonym of '' Elopteryx''. Fossils of ''Balaur'' were found in the Densuș-Ciula and Sebeș Formations of Cretaceous Romania which correspond to Hațeg Island, a subtropical island in the European archipelago of the Tethys sea approximately 70 million years ago. Hațeg Island is commonly referred to as the "Island of the Dwarf Dinosaurs" on account of the extens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anchiornithidae
Anchiornithidae is a family of small Paraves, paravian dinosaurs. Anchiornithids have been classified at varying positions in the paravian tree, with some scientists classifying them as a distinct family, a basal subfamily of Troodontidae, members of Archaeopterygidae, or an assemblage of dinosaurs that are an evolutionary grade within Avialae or Paraves. Description Anchiornithids share many general features with other paravians, including early avialans. They were small and lightly-built feathered carnivores, similar in biology to ''Archaeopteryx'', early Dromaeosauridae, dromaeosaurids like ''Microraptor'', and particularly troodontids. They are almost exclusively known from Late Jurassic Chinese deposits, although ''Ostromia'' was discovered in Germany and ''Yixianosaurus'' (a putative member of the group only known from forelimbs) is believed to hail from the early Cretaceous. Most had long legs, arms, and hands, although some (''Eosinopteryx'') had slightly reduced foreli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scansoriopterygidae
Scansoriopterygidae (meaning "climbing wings") is an extinct family (biology), family of climbing and gliding maniraptoran dinosaurs. Scansoriopterygids are known from five well-preserved fossils, representing four species, unearthed in the Tiaojishan Formation fossil beds (dating to the mid-late Jurassic Period) of Liaoning and Hebei, China. ''Scansoriopteryx , Scansoriopteryx heilmanni'' (and its likely synonym ''Epidendrosaurus ninchengensis'') was the first non-avian dinosaur found that had clear adaptations to an arboreal or semi-arboreal lifestyle–it is likely that they spent much of their time in trees. Both specimens showed features indicating they were juveniles, which made it difficult to determine their exact relationship to other non-avian dinosaurs and birds. It was not until the description of ''Epidexipteryx hui'' in 2008 that a subadult specimen was known. In 2015, the discovery of an adult specimen belonging to the species ''Yi (dinosaur), Yi qi'' showed th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rahonavis
''Rahonavis'' is a genus of bird-like theropod from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian, from about 72.1 to 66 mya) of what is now northwestern Madagascar. It is known from a partial skeleton ( UA 8656) found by Catherine Forster and colleagues in Maevarano Formation rocks at a quarry near Berivotra, Mahajanga Province.Tudge, Colin (2009) ''The Bird:A Natural History of Who Birds Are, Where They Came From, and How They Live'/ref> ''Rahonavis'' was a small predator, at about long and 0.45-2.27 kg (1-5 lbs),Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2008) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages'Supplementary Information/ref> with the typical Dromaeosauridae, dromaesaurid-like raised sickle claw on the second toe. It was originally the first African coelurosaur until the discovery of ''Nqwebasaurus'' in 2000. The name ''Rahonavis'' means, approximately, "cloud menace bird", from Malagasy ' (RA-hoo-na, "cloud" or "menace") + Latin ' "bird". The specifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fukuipteryx
''Fukuipteryx'' is an extinct genus of basal avialan dinosaurs found in Early Cretaceous deposits from Japan's Kitadani Formation. It contains one species, ''Fukuipteryx prima''.Imai, T., Azuma, Y., Kawabe, S., Shibata, M., Miyata, K., Wang, M., & Zhou, Z. (2019)An unusual bird (Theropoda, Avialae) from the Early Cretaceous of Japan suggests complex evolutionary history of basal birds Communications Biology, 2(1). doi: 10.1038/s42003-019-0639-4 Discovery and naming In 2013, the first associated skeleton of an Early Cretaceous avialan from Japan was collected at the Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry in Katsuyama, Fukui, central Japan. The specimen is three-dimensionally preserved, and exhibits several autapomorphies, which led to the creation of a new taxon. In 2019, the type species ''Fukuipteryx prima'' was named and described by Takuya Imai, Yoichi Azuma, Soichiro Kawabe, Masateru Shibata, Kazunori Miyata, Wang Min and Zhou Zhonghe. The genus name combines a reference to Fukui with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcmonavis
''Alcmonavis'' is a basal genus of avialan dinosaur that during the Late Jurassic lived in the area of present Germany. The only named species in the genus is ''Alcmonavis poeschli''. Its only known fossil was originally reported as a specimen of ''Archaeopteryx''. Discovery and naming Amateur paleontologist Roland Pöschl systematically excavates the Alte Schöpfel quarry on the Schaudiberg, at Mühlheim near Mörnsheim in Bavaria. In November 2017, he discovered a slab showing a right wing of a primordial bird. The piece was prepared by Uli Leonhardt. In 2018, it was reported as a thirteenth specimen of ''Archaeopteryx''. Subsequent research, however, indicated that it represented a species new to science. In 2019, the type species ''Alcmonavis poeschli'' was named and described by Oliver Walter Mischa Rauhut, Helmut Tischlinger and Christian Foth. The generic name combines the old Celtic name of the Altmühl River meandering through the region of the find, Alcmona, with a Lati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baminornis
''Baminornis'' (meaning "Fujian Province bird") is an extinct genus of basal avialans from the Late Jurassic (Tithonian age) Nanyuan Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, ''B. zhenghensis'', known from a partial skeleton. ''Baminornis'' is the oldest known avialan to bear a fused pygostyle. Discovery and naming The ''Baminornis'' holotype specimen, IVPP V33259, was discovered in outcrops of the Nanyuan Formation ('layer 2') near Yangyuan Village of Zhenghe County in Fujian Province, China. The specimen is incomplete and partially articulated, comprising bones of the left forelimb, and hindlimb, partial left pectoral and pelvic girdles, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, the pygostyle, and several ribs and gastralia. In 2025, Chen et al. described ''Baminornis zhenghensis'' as a new genus and species of early birds based on these fossil remains. The generic name, ''Baminornis'', combines ''Bamin''—the Mandarin word for Fujian Province—with the Greek wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhongornis
''Zhongornis'' (meaning "intermediate bird"Li, D.; Sulliven, C.; Zhou, Z; Zhang, Z. (2010). "Basal birds from China: a brief review." ''Chinese Birds'', 1(2): 83-96 ) is a genus of primitive maniraptoran dinosaurs that lived during the Early Cretaceous. It was found in rocks of the Yixian Formation in Lingyuan City (China), and described by Gao et al. in 2008.Gao, Cunling; Chiappe, L.M.; Meng, Q.; O'Connor, J.K.; Wang, X.; Cheng, X.; Liu, J. (2008) "A New Basal Lineage Of Early Cretaceous Birds From China And Its Implications On The Evolution Of The Avian Tail." "Palaeontology" Vol. 51, Part 4, pp. 775-791. ''Zhongornis'' has only one described species, ''Zhongornis haoae''. The only specimen is a fossil slab and counterslab numbered D2455/6. It is in the collection of the Dalian Natural History Museum. It is a fairly complete skeleton about eight centimeters in length. Pores in the bones and unfused sutures in the skeleton indicate that the specimen was a juvenile, but the auth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yandangornis
''Yandangornis'' is a genus of theropods (possibly avialans) from the Late Cretaceous Tangshang Formation of China. It lived 81.5 million years ago in what is now China. The type species, ''Y. longicaudus'', was formally described by Cai and Zhou in 1999. Discovery and naming The holotype specimen is a mostly complete skeleton in the collection of the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, with accession number M1326. The fossil was discovered in 1986, near Linhai City in Zhejiang Province, China. It includes most of one complete skeleton. The genus was named after the Yandang mountains. Description The specimen is small, roughly the size of ''Archaeopteryx'', with a total length around , of which 30.5 centimeters (1 foot) is tail. It is preserved in a seated position and visible from the ventral aspect. After ''Archaeopteryx'', ''Yandangornis'' was the second genus of primitive bird found preserving a long, bony tail, and this trait was responsible for the specific name ''long ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hesperonychus
''Hesperonychus'' (meaning "western claw") is a genus of small paravian theropod dinosaur. It may be a dromaeosaurid or an avialan. There is one described species, ''Hesperonychus elizabethae''. The type species was named in honor of Dr. Elizabeth Nicholls of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology who collected it as a student in 1982. It is known from fossils recovered from the Dinosaur Park Formation and possibly from the uppermost strata of the Oldman Formation of Alberta, dating to the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous around . Description ''Hesperonychus'' is mainly known from one partial pelvic girdle, holotype specimen UALVP 48778, collected by Dr. Elizabeth Nicholls in Dinosaur Provincial Park in 1982. The fossil remained undescribed, however, until Nick Longrich and Phil Currie published on it in 2009. A number of very small toe bones discovered from the Dinosaur Park Formation and Oldman Formation, including "sickle claws", in the collection of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
