Zhongjianornis
Zhongjianornis was a pigeon-sized bird that lived in China during the Early Cretaceous, about 120 million years ago. It had a toothless beak and strong wing muscles, making it a good flier. This little bird helps scientists understand how early birds evolved and lost their teeth.12
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Fun facts
Zhongjianornis is one of the most primitive birds known to have completely lost its teeth, developing a beak instead.2
Its humerus had a large, robust deltopectoral crest, which was as wide as the bone shaft and more than one-third the total length of the humerus, indicating strong flight muscles.3
The only known fossil of Zhongjianornis is a nearly complete skeleton with some poorly preserved feather imprints.3
Zhongjianornis lived during the Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous, about 121 to 113 million years ago.3
Scientists initially thought Zhongjianornis was very primitive, but later research in 2012 suggested it was more similar to advanced euornithean birds like Chaoyangia.1
The species name yangi honors Yang Zhongjian, the founder of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing.1
Most asked questions about Zhongjianornis
?How big was Zhongjianornis?
About the size of a pigeon. It was a small bird.1
?Did Zhongjianornis have teeth?
No, it had a toothless beak. It is one of the most primitive birds known to have completely lost its teeth.12
?What did Zhongjianornis eat?
Scientists are not sure, but its toothless beak suggests it may have eaten seeds or small insects.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Zhongjianornis was the most primitive toothless bird.
Truth: While initially thought to be very primitive, later analysis in 2012 showed that Zhongjianornis is more closely related to advanced euornithean birds, not the most primitive.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Zhongjianornis
- Named by
- Zhou et al. 20104
- Group
- Early birds
- Family / clade
- Ornithuromorpha4
- 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
- Zhongjianornis was named and described by Zhou, Zhang, and Li in a paper published in January 2010 (though it appeared online in 2009). The only fossil, a nearly complete skeleton, was found at Jianchang in Liaoning Province, China.12
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate whether Zhongjianornis was a very primitive bird or a more advanced euornithean, due to conflicting interpretations of its fossil's anatomy.1
Where the facts come from
- Zhongjianornis (en.wikipedia.org)
- A new Lower Cretaceous bird from China and tooth reduction in early avian evolution (royalsocietypublishing.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Zhongjianornis in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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