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Pengornis

Say it: PENG-or-niss

Name means: “Peng bird, after a giant bird from Chinese myth”1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsEarly Cretaceous

Pengornis was a bird that lived in the Early Cretaceous, about 120 million years ago. It was one of the biggest birds of its time, with a wingspan as wide as a small car. It had tiny teeth and ate meat.2 1

Lived

121 to 113 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Dapingfang, Chaoyang, Liaoning, China4 2

Food

Meat4 2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Pengornis is the largest known enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous of northeast China.1

Its skull is one of the best preserved among all Mesozoic birds, showing details like tiny teeth and wear facets.2

Pengornis had a globose humeral head that stuck out further than its deltopectoral crest, a feature not seen in other enantiornithines.2

The name comes from 'Peng', a giant mythological bird in Chinese folklore, and 'ornis' meaning bird in Greek.1

Its teeth were small, conical, and not curved, similar to those of the early bird Archaeopteryx.2

Pengornis had a long tail with a pygostyle, a fused bone at the tip that helped control flight.2

AI-made picture of Pengornis — An AI-made picture of how Pengornis 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 Pengornis

?How big was Pengornis?

Pengornis was a small bird with a wingspan of roughly 1 meter (3.3 feet). It is the largest known enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous.1 3

?Did Pengornis have teeth?

Yes, Pengornis had tiny, conical teeth that were not curved, similar to those of the early bird Archaeopteryx. It had about 13 teeth in its lower jaw and used them to eat meat.1 3

?When did Pengornis live?

Pengornis lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 120 million years ago.1

?What does the name Pengornis mean?

The name Pengornis comes from 'Peng', a giant mythological bird in Chinese folklore, and 'ornis', which means bird in Greek.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Pengornis
Named by: Zhou et al. 20084
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Pengornithidae4
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae4
Age of the rocks: 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)4
Rock formations: Jiufotang4
Countries: China4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Pengornis was named in 2008 by Zhou, Clarke, and Zhang based on a nearly complete skeleton found in the Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning, China. The species name 'houi' honors the pioneering paleo-ornithologist Lianhai Hou.1 2
Still debated: Scientists debate whether Enantiornithes and Ornithurae (the group including modern birds) are truly separate groups. Pengornis has features of both, which blurs the line.1 2

Where the facts come from

Pengornis (en.wikipedia.org)
Insight into diversity, body size and morphological evolution from the largest Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Insight into diversity, body size and morphological evolution from the largest Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird - Zhou - 2008 - Journal of Anatomy - Wiley Online Library (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
Pengornis in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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