Paraprotopteryx Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Clade: | Avialae |
Clade: | † Enantiornithes |
Genus: | † Paraprotopteryx Zheng, Zhang & Hou, 2007 |
Species: | †P. gracilis |
Binomial name | |
†Paraprotopteryx gracilis Zheng, Zhang & Hou, 2007 | |
Paraprotopteryx is a genus of enantiornithean birds from the Mesozoic of China. [1]
In 2007, the type species Paraprotopeteryx gracilis was named and described by Zheng Xiaoting, Zhang Zihui and Hou Lianhai. The generic name means "near Protopteryx ", in reference to a presumed similarity with that genus. The specific name is intended to mean "pretty". [1]
The holotype is specimen STM V001. It consists of a skeleton with skull on a plate and counterplate. The investigation preceding the description of the species proved that fossil traders had added the skull of a different individual to the torso. The description is based on the rump parts. Feathers have been preserved. The rump represents a subadult individual. [1]
Though initially reported to be from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation, later investigation showed that the fossil actually came from the Qiaotou Member of the Huajiying Formation of Fengning, Hebei Province, China, and is therefore of uncertain age. While much of the Huajiying Formation underlies the Yixian Formation, [2] Ji and colleagues suggested in 2008 that the Qiaotou Member correlates with the Dawangzhangzi beds of the Yixian Formation, dated to approximately 122 million years ago by Zhou Zhonghe in 2006. [3]
The original description suggested a number of distinguishing traits. Paraprotopteryx would have had a furcula (wishbone) which is shaped like a Y with a narrow angle between the clavicles. It also was described as having an unusually shaped breastbone, distinguishing it from other birds in the Enantiornithines. The carpometacarpus is only partially fused. [1]
Paraprotopteryx has four, ten centimetres long, rectrices (flight feathers on the tail), more than doubling the total body length, which may represent an important step in feather evolution. They have a very elongated ribbon-like shaft and only the tips are barbed and expanded. In Paraprotopteryx they may have served as a secondary sex characteristic. This was the first time a tail fan was reported for Enantiornithes. Later such a double pair was reported for Shanweiniao . However, although the presence of two ribbon-like rectrices is certain (as in the related enantiornithean bird Protopteryx) the describers of Shanweiniao in 2012 voiced a suspicion that the second pair of rectrices in Paraprotopteryx might be the result of artifice. [4]
Jinfengopteryx is a genus of maniraptoran dinosaur. It was found in the Qiaotou Member of the Huajiying Formation of Hebei Province, China, and is therefore of uncertain age. The Qiaotou Member may correlate with the more well-known Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation, and so probably dates to around 122 Ma ago.
Longipteryx is a genus of prehistoric bird which lived during the Early Cretaceous. It contains a single species, Longipteryx chaoyangensis. Its remains have been recovered from the Jiufotang Formation at Chaoyang in Liaoning Province, China. Apart from the holotype IVPP V 12325 - a fine and nearly complete skeleton — another entire skeleton and some isolated bones are known to date.
Cuspirostrisornis is a genus of enantiornithean bird. Only one species is known, Cuspirostrisornis houi, though some researchers believe this to be a synonym of the similar species Cathayornis yandica. It is known from one fossil found in the Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China. The Jiufotang Formation is dated to the Early Cretaceous period, Aptian age, 120.3 +/-0.7 million years ago.
Eoenantiornis is a genus of enantiornithean birds which lived during the early Cretaceous period. It is known from a single fossil specimen found in the Yixian Formation in Liaoning province, China.
Vescornis is a genus of enantiornithine bird. One species is named, V. hebeiensis. The holotype fossil is in the collection of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its catalog number is CAGS 130722. The fossil was found in Early Cretaceous rocks first attributed to the Yixian Formation, Senjitu, Fengning County, Hebei Province, China. However, later study of area geology showed that these rocks actually belong to the Huajiying Formation.
Pygostylia is a group of avialans which includes the Confuciusornithidae and all of the more advanced species, the Ornithothoraces.
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. It is a member of the Jehol group. The exact age of the Jiufotang has been debated for years, with estimates ranging from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. New uranium-lead dates reveal the formation is deposited in the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Fossils of Microraptor and Jeholornis are from the Jiufotang.
Protopteryx is an extinct bird and the most basal enantiornithean, from the Cretaceous period. The type species is P. fengningensis. It was first discovered in the Sichakou Member of the Yixian Formation or Huajiying Formation of Hebei Province, northern China, dating from 131 Ma ago. Protopteryx has been found in the Daibeigou formation, as well. The name Protopteryx means "primitive feather": "proto-" meaning "the first of" and "-pteryx" meaning "feather" or "wing." The name comes from the fact that Protopteryx feathers are more primitive than those of modern birds, such as the two elongated tail feathers that lack barbs and rami.
Jibeinia is a genus of enantiornithean bird. Only one species has been named, Jibeinia luanhera. It is known from one holotype fossil found in the Hebei province, People's Republic of China. This fossil is now lost. The holotype was, however, described and figured in detail by Hou (1997).
Shanweiniao is a genus of long-snouted enantiornithean birds from Early Cretaceous China. One species is known, Shanweiniao cooperorum. There is one known fossil, a slab and counterslab. The fossil is in the collection of the Dalian Natural History Museum, and has accession number DNHM D1878/1 and DNHM1878/2. It was collected from the Lower Cretaceous Dawangzhengzi Beds, middle Yixian Formation, from Lingyuan in the Liaoning Province, China.
The Yixian Formation is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans about 1.6 million years during the early Cretaceous period. It is known for its fossils, listed below.
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 somewhere in the early Cretaceous or late Jurassic periods. It may correlate with the early Cretaceous Dadianzi Formation and parts of the Yixian Formation, with an age range between 140 and 122 Ma ago. It contains the Qiaotou Member, sometimes treated as a distinct formation.
Shenqiornis is a bird genus of the Enantiornithes. It was found in the Qiaotou Member of the Huajiying Formation of Hebei Province, China, and is therefore of uncertain age. The Qiaotou Member may correlate with the more well-known Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation, and so probably is dated to the Aptian, around 122 million years ago.
Hongshanornithidae is an extinct group of early ornithuromorph birds from the early Cretaceous period of China. It includes the genera Hongshanornis and Tianyuornis from the Yixian Formation of Inner Mongolia, Longicrusavis from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, Parahongshanornis from the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning Province, and Archaeornithura, the oldest known member, from the Huajiying Formation of Hebei Province.
Longipterygidae is a family of early enantiornithean avialans from the Early Cretaceous epoch of China. All known specimens come from the Jiufotang Formation and Yixian Formation, dating to the early Aptian age, 125-120 million years ago.
Bohaiornithidae is a group of early predatory enantiornitheans from the early Cretaceous Period of China. All known specimens come from the Jiufotang Formation and Yixian Formation, dating to the early Aptian age, 125–120 million years ago. Bohaiornithidae was first coined as a family of enantiornithean birds by Wang and colleagues in 2014. They defined it as the natural group formed by all descendants of the common ancestor of the type species, Bohaiornis guoi, and Shenqiornis mengi.
Pengornithidae is a group of early enantiornithines from the early Cretaceous Period of China, with the putative member Falcatakely possibly extending this clade's range into the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar, and several putative pengornithids also hail from this formation. Specimens of these animals have been found both in the Huajiying Formation and Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning and Hebei provinces, dating from the Hauterivian age to the Aptian age.
Cruralispennia is an extinct genus of enantiornithean bird. The only known specimen of Cruralispennia was discovered in the Early Cretaceous Huajiying Formation of China and formally described in 2017. The type species of Cruralispennia is Cruralispennia multidonta. The generic name is Latin for "shin feather", while the specific name means "many-toothed". The holotype of Cruralispennia is IVPP 21711, a semi-articulated partial skeleton surrounded by the remains of carbonized feathers.
Chiappeavis is a genus of enantiornithean bird from Early Cretaceous of northeastern China. The only species is Chiappeavis magnapremaxillo. Chiappeavis is classified within the family Pengornithidae. It is known from a single, almost complete skeleton including feather impressions discovered in the Jiufotang Formation of the Jehol Group. Long feathers formed a fan-shaped tail that was probably employed in flight.
Cratonopterus is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Huajiying Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, C. huabei, known from a partial skeleton. Cratonopterus represents the first named pterosaur from the Huajiying Formation.