''Jinfengopteryx'' (from , 'golden phoenix', the queen of birds in Chinese folklore, and , meaning 'feather') is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

maniraptora Maniraptora is a clade of coelurosaurian dinosaurs which includes the birds and the non-avian dinosaurs that were more closely related to them than to ''Ornithomimus velox''. It contains the major subgroups Avialae, Dromaeosauridae, Troodontidae, ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

. It was found in the Qiaotou Member of the

Huajiying Formation The Huajiying Formation is a geological formation in Hebei, People's Republic of China. Known for its fossils including feathered dinosaurs, the age of the formation is uncertain. It may represent an early portion of the Jehol Biota, dating to som ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and is therefore of uncertain age. The Qiaotou Member may correlate with the more well-known

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronology, geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic name) is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 143.1 ...

Yixian Formation The Yixian Formation (; formerly Romanization of Chinese, transcribed as Yihsien Formation or Yixiang Formation) is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous. I ...

, and so probably dates to around 122 Ma (122 million years) ago.

Description

''Jinfengopteryx'' is known from one specimen (number CAGS-IG-04-0801), a nearly complete articulated skeleton, which measured long. It was preserved with extensive impressions of pennaceous feathers, but it lacks flight feathers on its hind legs, which are present in related dinosaurs such as '' Pedopenna'' or ''

Anchiornis ''Anchiornis'' is a genus of small, four-winged Paraves, paravian dinosaurs, with only one known species, the type species ''Anchiornis huxleyi'', named for its similarity to modern birds. The Latin name ''Anchiornis'' derives from a Greek word m ...

''. It also preserves several small, oval structures that are reddish-yellow in color, possibly seeds that the dinosaur had eaten before it died; they may also be small eggs or developing follicles. If the oval structures are indeed seeds, they could indicate that ''Jinfengopteryx'' was an omnivore.

Feathers

''Jinfengopteryx'' preserves feather impressions "around the neck, the body, the hips, the upper hindlimbs, the tail, and near the manus" (end of the front limbs). The specimen shows short, simple feathers on its neck, body, hips, and upper legs. Also preserved are long, vaned tail feathers that become increasingly longer distally (away from the body).

Flight

A 2020 study on paravian flight capacities demonstrates that ''Jinfengopteryx'' matches closely with other flying non-avian

theropods Theropoda (; from ancient Greek , (''therion'') "wild beast"; , (''pous, podos'') "foot"">wiktionary:ποδός"> (''pous, podos'') "foot" is one of the three major groups (clades) of dinosaurs, alongside Ornithischia and Sauropodom ...

like ''

Microraptor ''Microraptor'' (Greek language, Greek, μικρός, ''mīkros'': "small"; Latin language, Latin, ''raptor'': "one who seizes") is a genus of small, four-winged dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Numerous well-preserved fossil specimens have been recovere ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''.

Classification

The authors of the original description considered ''Jinfengopteryx'' to be the most basal

avialan 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 deinonychosaurs, though alternative defi ...

(bird), and a member of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Archaeopterygidae Archaeopterygidae is a group of paravian dinosaurs, known from the latest Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous of Europe. In most current classifications, it contains only the genera ''Archaeopteryx'' and ''Wellnhoferia''. As its name suggests, ''Pro ...

. In a 2007 follow-up paper, they went on to compare ''Jinfengopteryx'' and ''

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" ...

'', still supporting its placement as an archaeopterygid, but providing no

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

analysis.Ji S., and Ji, Q. (2007). "''Jinfengopteryx'' compared to ''Archaeopteryx'', with comments on the mosaic evolution of long-tailed avialan birds." ''Acta Geologica Sinica'' (English Edition), 81(3): 337-343. However,

Luis Chiappe Luis María Chiappe (born 18 June 1962) is an Argentine paleontologist born in Buenos Aires who is best known for his discovery of the first sauropod nesting sites in the badlands of Patagonia in 1997 and for his work on the origin and early evol ...

pointed out that ''Jinfengopteryx'' appears to have more in common with the troodontids, such as an enlarged claw on its short second toe, and that numerous scientists suspect it may belong to that group.Chiappe, L.M. ''Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds.'' Sydney: UNSW Press. In 2006, Xu and Norell also suggested that ''Jinfengopteryx'' was a troodontid, based on general body plan and features of the teeth.Xu and Norell (2006). "Non-avian dinosaur fossils from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group of western Liaoning, China." ''Geological Journal'', 41(3-4): 419-437. In a 2007 analysis of the relationships between troodontids, dromaeosaurids, and early birds, Turner and colleagues did find ''Jinfengopteryx'' to be a troodontid, and referred it to that group, noting that it is the first troodontid specimen to preserve evidence of feathers. In 2012, Turner and colleagues erected a new

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

called Jinfengopteryginae. The unique features of that subfamily include the large antorbital fenestrae and the bifurcated jugal. The specimen IGM 100/1126 (currently without an assigned genus) is the closest relative of ''Jinfengopteryx'' within the group.

References

External links