Confuciusornithidae

Confuciusornithidae
	Fossil of Confuchisornis sanctus
Temporal occurrence
	Lower chalk
	125 to 110 million years
Locations
	China;
Systematics
	Jaw mouths (Gnathostomata)
	Land vertebrates (Tetrapoda)
	Birds (aves)
	Pygostylia
	Confuciusornithiformes
	Confuciusornithidae
Scientific name
	Confuciusornithidae
	Hou , Zhou , Gu & Zhang , 1995

The Confuciusornithidae are a family of primitive, extinct birds from the Cretaceous Period . The family was placed in the Jehol Group in northeast China in 1995 after Confuciusornis was found. In the meantime, other fossils assigned to the group have been found, including the sparrow-sized Eoconfuciusornis .

features

The Confucius ornithids had a horned beak and teeth were missing. The fletching is perfectly preserved in some fossils and covers the body, neck, thighs, front wing area and tail with short feathers. There were long flight feathers in the rear of the wings. Half of the specimens, probably the males, also have two extremely elongated feathers on the tail, which are longer than the body. The sacrum , made up of seven fused vertebrae, forms a synsacrum . Eight to nine caudal vertebrae are fused into a pygostyle . Compared to Archeopteryx , the sternum was larger and had a clearer keel. The hand still had three movable fingers, which were probably used for climbing.

Genera

literature

Michael J. Benton : Paleontology of the vertebrates ("Vertebrate palaeontology"). Pfeil Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-89937-072-0 .

Individual evidence

↑ Zhang, F.-C., Zhou, Z.-H., & Benton, MJ (2008): A primitive confuciusornithid bird from China and its implications for early avian flight. Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences, 51 (5): 625-639.
↑ Hou, LH, Zhou, ZH, Zhang, FC, et al. (2002): Mesozoic Birds from Western Liaoning in China. Shenyang: Liaoning Science and Technology Publishing House, 2002.

Web links

Commons : Confuciusornithidae - Collection of images, videos and audio files

[1] Zhang, F.-C., Zhou, Z.-H., & Benton, MJ (2008): A primitive confuciusornithid bird from China and its implications for early avian flight. Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences, 51 (5): 625-639.

[2] Hou, LH, Zhou, ZH, Zhang, FC, et al. (2002): Mesozoic Birds from Western Liaoning in China. Shenyang: Liaoning Science and Technology Publishing House, 2002.