''Rapaxavis'' a genus of

enantiornithean The Enantiornithes, also known as enantiornithines or enantiornitheans in literature, are a group of extinct avialans ("birds" in the broad sense), the most abundant and diverse group known from the Mesozoic era. Almost all retained teeth and cl ...

bird. It has been found in the

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. T ...

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

People's Republic of 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 ...

. In 2006 a specimen was reported, discovered by Pan Lijun at Xiaioyugou near the town of Lianhe, and referred to '' Longirostravis''. In 2009 this specimen was named and described as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

''Rapaxavis pani'' by Eric M. Morschhauser, David Varricchio, Gao Chunling, Liu Jinyuan, Wang Xuri, Cheng Xiadong and Meng Qingjin. The generic name combines the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''rapax'', "grasping", with ''avis'', "bird", in reference to the special grasping function of the foot. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours Pan as discoverer. It is also an allusion to Pan, the god of the forests, because the species was assumed to have been

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

. The

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 s ...

, DMNH D2522, was found in a layer of the Jiufotang Formation dating from the early

Albian The Albian is both an age (geology), age of the geologic timescale and a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early/Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch/s ...

. It consists of a nearly complete skeleton with skull, on a slab. When the slab was split from its counterplate, the bones did not split with them, preserving them perfectly. The specimen was in 2009 described after having been observed without any preparation. It represents a subadult individual. Later it was prepared but in an unprofessional way, damaging the skeleton, especially the skull where the entire right

jugal bone The jugal is a skull bone found in most reptiles, amphibians and birds. In mammals, the jugal is often called the malar or zygomatic bone, zygomatic. It is connected to the quadratojugal and maxilla, as well as other bones, which may vary by spe ...

was removed. Subsequently, it was sent to the ''

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are par ...

'' where a further preparation took place, which managed to repair some of the damage. The knowledge gained during this process was the basis for a more detailed redescription in 2011.O’Connor, J.K., Chiappe, L.M., Gao, C., and Zhao, B. 2011. "Anatomy of the Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird ''Rapaxavis pani''". ''Acta Palaeontologica Polonica'' 56(3): 463–475

References

Jiufotang fauna Bird genera Early Cretaceous birds of Asia Longipterygidae Fossil taxa described in 2009 {{paleo-bird-stub