Bellulia

Bellulia had nearly straight claws on its fingers, which is unusual for early birds. Its species name 'rectusunguis' means 'straight claw'.3

This bird had a V-shaped furcula (wishbone) with a short hypocleidium, a feature only seen in one other Cretaceous bird called Schizooura.2

Bellulia lived during the Aptian age, about 121 to 113 million years ago, in the Early Cretaceous period.1

The only known fossil of Bellulia is a nearly complete skeleton, but the skull is missing. It was found in the Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning, China.3

Bellulia was a basal ornithuromorph, meaning it was an early relative of all modern birds. It was more advanced than some other early birds like Archaeorhynchus.2

The fossil of Bellulia includes feather traces, showing it had feathers like modern birds.3