Shengjingornis
Shengjingornis was a small, toothed bird that lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now China. It had a long beak and strong wings that helped it fly fast and flap powerfully. This bird was an enantiornithine, a group of ancient birds that went extinct with the dinosaurs.1
When did it live?
How fast was it?
Fun facts
Shengjingornis had teeth only in the front of its long beak, unlike many modern birds which have no teeth.1
Its furcula, or wishbone, was Y-shaped with a wide end on the hypocleidium, a feature that helped with flight.1
The sternum, or breastbone, was shaped like a cake and had a low keel that pointed toward the tail.1
Shengjingornis lived around 121 to 113 million years ago during the Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous.2
Its fossils were found in the Jiufotang Formation, which was once a lake environment with sandstones and mudstones.3
Only one specimen of Shengjingornis has been found, and it is kept at the Liaoning Paleontological Museum.3
Most asked questions about Shengjingornis
?How big was Shengjingornis?
Its size is not exactly known, but its close relative Longipteryx had a wingspan of about 46 cm and weighed about 193 grams. Shengjingornis was probably a similar small bird.4
?Did Shengjingornis have teeth?
Yes, it had teeth only in the front of its long beak, unlike most modern birds which have no teeth.14
?When did Shengjingornis live?
Shengjingornis lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 125 to 113 million years ago.56
?What did Shengjingornis eat?
The diet of Shengjingornis is not known for sure. Its close relative Longipteryx ate fruits (seeds), so Shengjingornis may have been a seed-eater too.4
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Shengjingornis
- Named by
- Li et al. 20126
- Group
- Early birds
- Family / clade
- Longipterygidae6
- Classification
- Theropoda > Avialae6
- Age of the rocks
- 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)6
- Rock formations
- Jiufotang6
- Countries
- China6
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database6
- Discovery
- Shengjingornis was named by Li Li, Wang Jinqi, Zhang Xi, and Hou Shilin in 2012 based on a single fossil from the Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning, China.21
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how big Shengjingornis was, because only one partial skeleton has been found.2
Where the facts come from
- A New Enantiornithine Bird from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in Jinzhou Area, Western Liaoning Province, China (geojournals.cn)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- PBDB Collection (paleobiodb.org)
- Longipteryx (Wikipedia) (Wikipedia)
- Shengjingornis (mindat.org)
- Shengjingornis in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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