Shuilingornis
Sign in to saveShuilingornis (meaning "pretty and vivid bird") is an extinct genus of gansuid euornithean birds from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, S. angelai, known from a nearly complete articulated skeleton. As a member of the Gansuidae, Shuilingornis represents one of the earliest known birds known to demonstrate semi-aquatic adaptations.
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Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Discovery and naming
- Description
- Classification
- See also
- References
Shuilingornis (meaning "pretty and vivid bird") is an extinct genus of gansuid euornithean birds from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, S. angelai, known from a nearly complete articulated skeleton. As a member of the Gansuidae, Shuilingornis represents one of the earliest known birds known to demonstrate semi-aquatic adaptations.
== Discovery and naming == The Shuilingornis holotype specimen, LY2022JZ3002, was discovered in sediments of the Jiufotang Formation ('Lamadong locality') in Jianchang County of Huludao City, Liaoning Province, China. The specimen is a nearly complete and articulated skeleton, preserved on a single slab. Some feather imprints are visible around the hand of the holotype. An egg-shaped pigmented spot is preserved in the abdominal region, indicating some form of soft tissue. Similarly, a dark spot observed in the orbital region likely represents traces of the eye.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Shuilingornis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.