Dino card No. 1518 of 2,027

Qiliania

Say it: CHEE-lee-AH-nee-uh

Name means: “heaven”1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsEarly Cretaceous

Qiliania was a small, early bird that lived about 120 million years ago. It had strong legs and sharp claws, and it probably hunted for food on the ground and in trees.2 3

Lived

121 to 113 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Changma Basin, Gansu Province, northwestern China1 3

Food

Meat2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Qiliania is an enantiornithean, a group of early birds that lived alongside dinosaurs.1

Its fossils were found in the Xiagou Formation, which is about 121 to 113 million years old.2

The fossils are three-dimensionally preserved, which is rare for early Cretaceous birds.3

Scientists measured the claw angle of Qiliania's foot and think it may have been a ground forager or an arboreal forager, like modern doves or cuckoos.3

Qiliania was named after the Qilian Mountains, and its species name honors Greg Graffin, a paleontologist and punk rock musician.1

Only two partial skeletons of Qiliania have been found, including a left pelvic girdle and leg.3

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

?How big was Qiliania?

Qiliania was a small bird, about the size of a modern dove or pigeon. Its tibiotarsus (lower leg bone) was very long and slender, about 133% the length of its femur (thigh bone).3

?What did Qiliania eat?

Qiliania was probably a ground-dwelling carnivore, meaning it ate small animals like insects or other tiny prey. Its claw angle suggests it may have foraged both on the ground and in trees, like modern cuckoos or doves.4 3

?Is Qiliania a dinosaur?

Yes, Qiliania is a dinosaur. It is an early bird, and birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs, so all birds are technically dinosaurs. Qiliania belongs to a group called enantiornithes.1 4

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Qiliania
Named by: Ji et al. 20114
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Enantiornithes4
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae4
Age of the rocks: 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)4
Rock formations: Xiagou4
Countries: China4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Qiliania was named in 2011 by Shu-An Ji and a team of scientists. The fossils were found near the town of Changma in Gansu Province, China.1 3
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether Qiliania spent more time on the ground or in trees, because its foot bones do not clearly show one lifestyle.3

Where the facts come from

Qiliania (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
A new, threedimensionally preserved enantiornithine bird (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from Gansu Province, northwestern China (cactus.utahtech.edu)
Qiliania 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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