Kunpengornis

Not to be confused with Kunpengopterus or Pengornis.

Kunpengornis Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, Aptian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	Theropoda
Clade:	Avialae
Clade:	Euornithes
Genus:	† Kunpengornis Huang et al., 2025
Species:	†K. anhuimusei
Binomial name
†Kunpengornis anhuimusei Huang et al., 2025

Kunpengornis (meaning "Kunpeng bird") is an extinct genus of euornithean birds known from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian age) Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning Province, China. The genus contains a single species, Kunpengornis anhuimusei, known from a nearly complete and articulated skeleton. Fish bones preserved in the abdominal cavity indicate that Kunpengornis was piscivorous. ^[1]

Discovery and naming

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Kunpengornis type locality in Liaoning, China

The Kunpengornis holotype specimen, AGB 15483, was discovered by a farmer in outcrops of the Jiufotang Formation, who donated it to Anhui Geological Museum in 2023 to be researched, where it is now accessioned. It was found near Lamadong in Jianchang County of Liaoning Province, China. The specimen consists of almost all of the skeleton in anatomical articulation, preserved on a single slab. ^[1]

In 2025, Huang and colleagues described Kunpengornis anhuimusei as a new genus and species of euornithean birds based on these fossil remains. The generic name, Kunpengornis, combines a reference to the mythical Chinese Kunpeng —known for its ability to transform into either a fish or a giant bird ^[2] —with the Greek ornis, meaning "bird". The specific name, anhuimusei, references the Anhui Geological Museum, which houses the holotype. ^[1]

Classification

Speculative life restoration of the closely related Piscivoravis

In their phylogenetic analyses, Huang et al. (2025) recovered Kunpengornis as a member of the Euornithes, as the sister taxon to Piscivoravis . In turn, this clade was found to diverge after the Yanornithidae, but before the Gansuidae and Ornithuromorpha. These results are displayed in the cladogram below: ^[1]

Ornithothoraces

† Enantiornithes Euornithes † Zhongjianornis † Chongmingia † Xinghaiornis † Xiangornis † Yumenornis † Eogranivora † Dingavis † Archaeorhynchus † Mengciusornis † Schizooura † Tianyuornis † Archaeornithura † Hongshanornithidae † Hongshanornis † Parahongshanornis † Changmaornis † Longicrusavis † Jianchangornis † Yanornithidae † Similiyanornis † Songlingornis † Ambiortus † Yanornis † Yixianornis †Kunpengornis † Piscivoravis † Khinganornis † Shuilingornis † Changzuiornis † Hollanda † Gansuidae † Iteravis † Gansus yumenensis Ornithuromorpha

References

1. Huang, Jiandong; Wang, Xuri; Cau, Andrea; Mao, Lei; Liu, Yichuan; Wang, Yang (September 26, 2025). "A new euornithine from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) of China reveals the first radiation of fish-eating birds". Cretaceous Research (in press). 106244. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106244 . ISSN   0195-6671.
2. Liang, Wayne Wen-chun (2025). "The Poetics of Translating Chinese Mythology: Exploring English Translations of the Chinese Classic of Mountains and Seas" (PDF). Studia Orientalia Slovaca. 24 (1): 64.