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Aberratiodontus

Say it: ab-er-RAY-tee-oh-DON-tus

Name means: “abnormal tooth”1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsEarly Cretaceous

Aberratiodontus was an ancient bird that lived in what is now China. It had a mouth full of teeth, which is very different from birds today!1 2

Lived

126 to 113 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Liaoning, China1

Food

Meat1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Aberratiodontus had more teeth than any other early bird, with up to 21 teeth on each side of its lower jaw.2

Its teeth were different sizes, like a mammal's, with big fang-like teeth in the front and smaller ones in the back.2

This bird could replace its teeth, with new teeth growing from the inside of the tooth row, similar to crocodiles.2

Aberratiodontus was about twice as big as another early bird called Longipteryx.2

Its wishbone (furcula) was long and shaped like that of the older bird Archaeopteryx.2

Some scientists think Aberratiodontus might actually be the same species as another bird called Yanornis martini.1

AI-made picture of Aberratiodontus — An AI-made picture of how Aberratiodontus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Aberratiodontus

?Was Aberratiodontus a dinosaur?

Yes, Aberratiodontus was a dinosaur. Birds are a group of theropod dinosaurs, and Aberratiodontus is classified as an ancient bird.3 4

?How big was Aberratiodontus?

It was about twice as big as another early bird called Longipteryx, but its exact size is not given. The related bird Yanornis martini was the size of a chicken.4 3

?What did Aberratiodontus eat?

It was a carnivore, meaning it ate meat. Its relative Yanornis martini ate fish, so Aberratiodontus probably ate fish or other small animals too.4 3

?When did Aberratiodontus live?

It lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 121 to 113 million years ago, in what is now China.4

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Aberratiodontus
Named by: Gong et al. 20044
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Yanornithidae4
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae4
Age of the rocks: 126 to 113 million years (Barremian / Aptian)4
Rock formations: Jiufotang4
Countries: China4
Fossil records: 4 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Aberratiodontus was named by Gong and colleagues in 2004 based on a nearly complete skeleton found at Shangheshou in Liaoning, China.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if Aberratiodontus is a separate species or just a younger version of Yanornis martini.1

Where the facts come from

PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Enantiornithine bird with diapsidian skull and its dental development in the Early Cretaceous in Liaoning, China (bionames.org)
Yanornis (Wikipedia) (Wikipedia)
Aberratiodontus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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