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Archaeornithura

Say it: ar-kee-OR-nih-THOO-rah

Name means: “ancient ornithuromorph”1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsEarly Cretaceous

Archaeornithura was a tiny bird that lived about 130 million years ago. It is the oldest known relative of all modern birds. This little bird had feathers and could fly well, just like birds today.2 1

Lived

133 to 126 million years ago3

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Hebei Province, northeastern China2 1

Food

Meat3

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Archaeornithura is the oldest known ornithuromorph, the group that includes all living birds.2 1

It lived 130.7 million years ago, which is about 5 to 6 million years older than any other known ornithuromorph.1

This bird had a well-developed alula, a small feathered finger on the front edge of its wing that helps with maneuverability in flight.2

Archaeornithura had fan-shaped tail feathers and a U-shaped furcula (wishbone), features seen in modern birds.2

Only two fossils of Archaeornithura have been found, both from the Huajiying Formation in China.2 1

Its discovery pushed back the first appearance of ornithuromorph birds by about 6 million years.1

AI-made picture of Archaeornithura — An AI-made picture of how Archaeornithura 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.

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Archaeornithura
Named by: Wang et al. 20153
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Hongshanornithidae3
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae3
Age of the rocks: 133 to 126 million years (Hauterivian)3
Rock formations: Huajiying3
Countries: China3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Archaeornithura was named in 2015 by a team led by Wang Min and Zhou Zhonghe. The fossils were bought from a fossil dealer and came from the Huajiying Formation in Hebei, China.2 1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly how Archaeornithura is related to other early birds and whether it was a wading bird like its relatives.1

Where the facts come from

The oldest record of ornithuromorpha from the early cretaceous of China | Nature Communications (web.archive.org)
Archaeornithura (en.wikipedia.org)
Archaeornithura in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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