Dalianraptor
Dalianraptor (meaning "Dalian thief") is a dubious genus of prehistoric bird that lived in China about 120 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous Period that was found in the Jiufotang Formation of China.[1] It was initially believed to have been a possible dromaeosaurid before it was described in 2005.[2]
| Dalianraptor Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Eumaniraptora |
| Clade: | Avialae |
| Genus: | †Dalianraptor Gao & Liu, 2005 |
| Species: | †D. cuhe |
| Binomial name | |
| †Dalianraptor cuhe Gao & Liu, 2005 | |
Discovery and naming
The holotype, D2139, was discovered sometime before the 2000s, when Matthew Martyniuk saw a photograph of the holotype, which was then labelled as an undescribed possible dromaeosaurid.[2] The type, and only known species, D. cuhe, was named and described by Gao & Liu in 2005.[1]
More recently, it is being suspected that the specimen is a chimera forged for the fossil trade,[3] namely a Jeholornis with the arms exchanged by those of an unnamed flightless theropod.[4][2] If the holotype is not a chimera, then the placement of Dalianraptor within Aves is still uncertain.[4]
Description
Dalianraptor is very similar to the contemporary avialian Jeholornis, though it has a longer digit I (thumb-equivalent) and shorter forelimbs,[5] which suggests it may have been flightless. It also reached about 80 centimetres (31 in) in length.
References
- Gao and Liu (2005). "A new avian taxon from Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning." Global Geology, 24(4), 313-316.
- Matthew Martyniuk (2012-08-10). "DinoGoss: The Strange Bird Dalianraptor cuhe". Dinogoss.blogspot.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
- O'Connor, Sun, Xu, Wang and Zhou (2012). "A new species of Jeholornis with complete caudal integument." Historical Biology, 24(1): 29-41.
- Naish, Darren (2011). "Getting a major chapter on birds – ALL birds – into a major book on dinosaurs | Tetrapod Zoology, Scientific American Blog Network". PLOS ONE. Blogs.scientificamerican.com. 6 (11): e26350. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026350. PMC 3227577. PMID 22140427. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
- Chiappe, Luis M.; Dyke, Gareth J. (2006). "The Early Evolutionary History of Birds". Journal of the Paleontological Society of Korea. 22 (1): 133–151.