Songlingornis

Songlingornis is a prehistoric bird genus from the Early Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning (PRC).[1] The age of these rocks is somewhat disputed, but probably around the early Aptian, 125-120 million years ago. Only one species, Songlingornis linghensis, is known at present.

Songlingornis
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Clade: Avialae
Family: †Songlingornithidae
Genus: †Songlingornis
Hou, 1997
Species:
†S. linghensis
Binomial name
†Songlingornis linghensis
Hou, 1997

It was a close relative of Yanornis and together with this and Yixianornis forms a clade of early modern birds.[2] It is sometimes considered to be the same genus as Yanornis (which, described after Songlingornis, would then be merged into that taxon),[3] but this is not universally accepted.[4]

Footnotes
  1. Hou (1997)
  2. Mortimer (2004), Clarke et al. (2006)
  3. Gong et al. (2004)
  4. Mortimer (2004)

References
  • Clarke, Julia A.; Zhou, Zhonghe & Zhang, Fucheng (2006): Insight into the evolution of avian flight from a new clade of Early Cretaceous ornithurines from China and the morphology of Yixianornis grabaui. Journal of Anatomy 208 (3):287-308. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00534.x PMID 16533313 PDF fulltext Electronic Appendix
  • Gong, Enpu; Hou, Lianhai & Wang, Lixia (2004) Enantiornithine Bird with Diapsidian Skull and Its Dental Development in the Early Cretaceous in Liaoning, China. Acta Geologica Sinica 78(1): 1–7.
  • Hou (1997) Mesozoic Birds of China, Phoenix Valley Provincial Aviary, Taiwan: 153 pp.
  • Mortimer, Michael (2004): The Theropod Database: Phylogeny of taxa. Retrieved 2013-MAR-02.


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