Liaoningornis
Encyclopedia
Liaoningornis is a genus of bird from Lower Cretaceous China
. It was collected from the dinosaur-bearing beds of the Sihetun locality, of the Yixian Formation
, Shangyuan, near the city of Beipiao
in Liaoning
province. The only known species is Liaoningornis longidigitris. It was described by Linhai Hou in 1996 and 1997.
The single fossil is an incomplete semi-articulated skeleton the size of a sparrow. It includes both feet, the right leg, the sternum
, part of the right arm, and fragmentary coracoids and pubes. Its accession number is IVPP11303. It is in the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
in Beijing
.
Liaoningornis is a surprisingly advanced bird for the Early Cretaceous
. Zhou and Hou in 2002 considered it the oldest known member of the Ornithurae
. It has advanced flight, perching, and respiratory adaptations like a long, deeply keeled sternum
, a pair of anterolateral processes on the sternum near the articulations with the coracoids, fused, short, metatarsals, and highly curved pedal claws indicating good perching ability. Hou et al. (1996) described the metatarsals as fused only distally, but Zhou and Hou (2002) revised this analysis, finding that the metatarsus was fused distally and proximally, but not along most of the length.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. It was collected from the dinosaur-bearing beds of the Sihetun locality, of the Yixian Formation
Yixian Formation
The Yixian Formation is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans 11 million years during the early Cretaceous period...
, Shangyuan, near the city of Beipiao
Beipiao
Beipiao is a city in Chaoyang prefecture, Liaoning province, in Northeast China. It has a population of 202,807. The main industry in the area is coal mining. With vertical shafts of almost 1000m, these are some of the deepest coal mines in China. The coal produced is used for coking...
in Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
province. The only known species is Liaoningornis longidigitris. It was described by Linhai Hou in 1996 and 1997.
The single fossil is an incomplete semi-articulated skeleton the size of a sparrow. It includes both feet, the right leg, the sternum
Sternum
The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bony plate shaped like a capital "T" located anteriorly to the heart in the center of the thorax...
, part of the right arm, and fragmentary coracoids and pubes. Its accession number is IVPP11303. It is in the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of China is a prominent research institution and collections repository for fossils, including many dinosaur and pterosaurand cat poo specimens...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
.
Liaoningornis is a surprisingly advanced bird for the Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...
. Zhou and Hou in 2002 considered it the oldest known member of the Ornithurae
Ornithurae
Ornithurae is the name of a natural group which includes all modern birds as well as their extinct relatives with plough-shaped pygostyles, a bone at the end of the tail which allows the tail feathers to fan and retract....
. It has advanced flight, perching, and respiratory adaptations like a long, deeply keeled sternum
Sternum
The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bony plate shaped like a capital "T" located anteriorly to the heart in the center of the thorax...
, a pair of anterolateral processes on the sternum near the articulations with the coracoids, fused, short, metatarsals, and highly curved pedal claws indicating good perching ability. Hou et al. (1996) described the metatarsals as fused only distally, but Zhou and Hou (2002) revised this analysis, finding that the metatarsus was fused distally and proximally, but not along most of the length.