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Chongmingia
''Chongmingia'' is a genus of basal Avialae, avialan belonging to Pygostylia that lived during the Aptian. It was found in the Jiufotang Formation in Chaoyang, Liaoning, Chaoyang, China, and was described by Wang ''et al''., 2016. The name comes from the word ''Chongming'', referring to a Chinese mythological bird, and the specific epithet is in honor of Mr. Xiaoting Zheng. Taxonomy The species was first described in 2015; the description appeared in the pages of ''Scientific Reports''. Only the holotype, extracted from the Jehol Biota sediments from the Early Cretaceous period in north-east China, was discovered. ''Chongmingia zhengi'' represents a developmental line unknown at the time of description, it illustrates the diversity of traits in contemporary birds. The ''furcula'' in ''C. zhengi'' was stiff, which indicates their poor performance and the need to use more force on the fly. On the other hand, the relatively long forelimb and well-developed chest and shoulder Keel (bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jinguofortisidae
Jinguofortisidae is an extinct family of early pygostylian dinosaurs known from the Early Cretaceous. They were found in northern China. Description The Jinguofortisidae are distinguished from other non- ornithothoracine avialans by the following features: the scapula and coracoid fused into a scapulocoracoid; a boomeranged-shaped furcula without a hypocleidium; proximal margin of humerus concave centrally; deltopectoral crest large and not perforated; minor metacarpal markedly bowed caudally; alular digit terminating at the level of the distal end of major metacarpal; and proximal phalanx of the major digit longer than the intermediate phalanx. Phylogeny Wang et al. (2018) erected Jinguofortisidae after finding ''Chongmingia'' (previously considered Avebrevicauda ''incertae sedis'' by Wang et al. 2016) to be sister to their new taxon ''Jinguofortis''. In 2023, a third jinguofortisid was described by Li ''et al''. They recovered their new taxon, '' Cratonavis'', as the sister ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jinguofortis
''Jinguofortis'' is a genus of primitive avialan belonging to the clade Pygostylia that lived during the Valanginian stage of the Early Cretaceous. It was found in the Dabeigou Formation in northeastern China, and isotope dating from the samples overlying the bird-bearing horizon is 127 million years ago. Description ''Jinguofortis'' is notable for having a combination of primitive and advanced traits. Some of these are typical of stemward avialans (further from modern birds) while others occur in crownward avialans (closer to modern birds). The scapula and coracoid bones of the shoulder girdle are fused into a single bone, the scapulocoracoid. A fused scapulocoracoid is a plesiomorphic (primitive) feature which is not present in modern birds. This plesiomorphic state is found in pterosaurs and non-avian dinosaurs, including coelurosaurian theropods ancestral to birds. However, these bones become unfused in the famed early avialan ''Archaeopteryx'', and in more crownward avian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiufotang Formation
The Jiufotang Formation () is an Early Cretaceous geological formation in Chaoyang, Liaoning which has yielded fossils of feathered dinosaurs, primitive birds, pterosaurs, and other organisms (see Jehol Biota). It is a member of the Jehol group. The exact age of the Jiufotang has been debated for years, with estimates ranging from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. New Uranium–lead dating, uranium-lead dates reveal the formation is deposited in the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Fossils of ''Microraptor'' and ''Jeholornis'' are from the Jiufotang. Fossil content Choristoderans Fish Mammaliamorphs Several mammaliamorph specimens have been found from the Jiufotang, but only a few have been formally described and named. Ornithischians Pterosaurs Saurischians A large titanosaur is present in the formation. Enantiornithines Euornithines Non-ornithothoracean theropods Crustaceans Plants See also * Yixian Formation * List of dinosa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cratonavis
''Cratonavis'' (meaning "Craton bird") is an extinct genus of pygostylian avialian from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning Province, China. The genus contains a single species, ''C. zhui'', known from a complete skeleton. Discovery and naming The holotype specimen, IVPP V31106, was discovered in sediments of the Jiufotang Formation, dated to the Aptian age of the early Cretaceous period, near the Xiaotaizi village, (Jianchang County) of Liaoning Province, northeastern China. This specimen consists of a complete, articulated individual with preserved feathers. In 2023, Li Zhiheng, Wang Min, Thomas A. Stidham, and Zhou Zhonghe described ''Cratonavis zhui'', a new genus and species of jinguofortisid, based on these fossil remains. The generic name, "''Cratonavis''", combines a reference to the North China Craton with the Latin word "avis", meaning "bird". The specific name, "''zhui''", honors the Chinese geologist Zhu Rixiang, who has studied the destru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Pygostylia
Pygostylia is a group of avialans which includes the Confuciusornithidae and all of the more advanced species, the Ornithothoraces. Definition The group Pygostylia was intended to encompass all avialans with a short, stubby tail, as opposed to the longer, unfused tails of more primitive species like ''Archaeopteryx lithographica''. It was named by Sankar Chatterjee in 1997.Chatterjee, S. 1997. ''The Rise of Birds.'' Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 312 pp. Luis Chiappe later defined Pygostylia as a node-based clade, "the common ancestor of the Confuciusornithidae and Neornithes plus all its descendants". In 2001, Jacques Gauthier and Kevin de Queiroz recommended that Chatterjee's original apomorphy-based clade concept be used instead of Chiappe's node-based definition,Gauthier, J., & De Queiroz, K. (2001). Feathered dinosaurs, flying dinosaurs, crown dinosaurs, and the name" Aves. ''New perspectives on the origin and early evolution of birds'', 7-41. but this reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holotype
A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several examples, but explicitly designated as the holotype. Under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), a holotype is one of several kinds of name-bearing types. In the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and ICZN, the definitions of types are similar in intent but not identical in terminology or underlying concept. For example, the holotype for the butterfly '' Plebejus idas longinus'' is a preserved specimen of that subspecies, held by the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. In botany and mycology, an isotype is a duplicate of the holotype, generally pieces from the same individual plant or samples from the same genetic individual. A holotype is not necessarily "ty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aptian Birds
The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), approximately. The Aptian succeeds the Barremian and precedes the Albian, all part of the Lower/Early Cretaceous. The Aptian partly overlaps the upper part of the Western European Urgonian Stage. The Selli Event, also known as OAE1a, was one of two oceanic anoxic events in the Cretaceous Period, which occurred around 120 Ma and lasted approximately 1 to 1.3 million years, being marked by enhanced silicate weathering, as well as ocean acidification. The Aptian extinction was a minor extinction event hypothesized to have occurred around 116 to 117 Ma. Stratigraphic definitions The Aptian was named after the small city of Apt in the Provence region of France, which is also known for its crystallized fruits. The original type locality is i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird Genera
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] |
Enantiornithes
The Enantiornithes, also known as enantiornithines or enantiornitheans in literature, are a group of extinct Avialae, avialans ("birds" in the broad sense), the most abundant and diverse group known from the Mesozoic era. Almost all retained teeth and clawed fingers on each wing, but otherwise looked much like modern birds externally. Over seventy species of Enantiornithes have been named, but some names represent only single bones, so it is likely that not all are valid. The Enantiornithes became extinct at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, along with Hesperornithes and all other non-avian dinosaurs. Discovery and naming The first Enantiornithes to be discovered were incorrectly referred to modern bird groups. For example, the first known species of Enantiornithes, ''Gobipteryx minuta'', was originally considered a paleognath related to ostriches and tinamou. The Enantiornithes were first recognized as a distinct lineage, or "subclass" of birds, by Cyril A. Walker in 1981. W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithuromorpha
Euornithes (from Greek ' meaning "true birds") is a natural group which includes the most recent common ancestor of all avialans closer to modern birds than to the enantiornithines. This group was defined in the ''PhyloCode'' by Juan Benito and colleagues in 2022 as "the largest clade containing '' Vultur gryphus'', but not '' Enantiornis leali'' and '' Cathayornis yandica''". Description Clarke ''et al''. (2006) found that the most primitive known euornithians (the Yanornithiformes) had a mosaic of advanced and primitive features. These species retained primitive features like gastralia and a pubic symphysis. They also showed the first fully modern pygostyles, and the type specimen of ''Yixianornis'' (IVPP 13631) preserves eight elongated rectrices (tail feathers) in a modern arrangement. No earlier pygostylians are known which preserve a fan of tail feathers of this sort; instead, they showed only paired plumes or a tuft of short feathers. Classification The name Euornithes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confuciusornithidae
Confuciusornithidae is an extinct family of pygostylian avialans known from the Early Cretaceous, found in northern China. They are commonly placed as a sister group to Ornithothoraces, a group that contains all extant birds along with their closest extinct relatives. Confuciusornithidae contains four genera, possessing both shafted and non-shafted (downy) feathers. Some specimens probably referable to this clade represents one of the earliest known fossil evidence of primary feather moulting. They are also noted for their distinctive pair of ribbon-like tail feathers of disputed function. The wing anatomy of confuciusornithids suggests an unusual flight behavior, due to anatomy that implies conflicting abilities. They possessed feathers similar to those of fast-flapping birds, which rely on quick flapping of their wings to stay aloft. At the same time, their wing anatomy also suggests a lack of flapping ability. Confuciusornithids are also noted for their beak and lack of teeth, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
