Cruralispennia
| Cruralispennia | ||||||||
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Photograph and diagram of the holotype IVPP 21711. |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||
| Lower Cretaceous | ||||||||
| approx. 130.7 million years | ||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||
| Cruralispennia | ||||||||
| Wang , O'Connor , Yanhong & Zhou , 2017 | ||||||||
| Art | ||||||||
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Cruralispennia is an extinct genus of the Enantiornithes . The generic name is derived from the Latin crus "lower leg" and penna "pen spring". The species name means "multi-toothed" and refers to the high number of teeth compared to other enantiornithes. It was named and described in 2017 by Min Wang, Jingmai K O'Connor, Pan Yanhong and Zhonghe Zhou.
remains
The only known fossil (holotype IVPP 21711) was discovered in the Huajiying Formation, which is in what is now China. It shows an almost complete skeleton with remains of the plumage. The remains are estimated to be around 130.7 million years old.
Size and special features
Cruralispennia were small birds with a wingspan of about 30 cm. The pygostyle is short, wide and ends in a distally upwardly curved tip. This plow shape is atypical for enantiornithes, which usually have a rod-shaped or spear-shaped pygostyle. The pelvis is flat in the transverse direction. The back of the iliac bone is short and directed downwards. The upper protrusion of the rear edge of the ischial is in a relatively low position. The pubic bone has no "foot".
growth
Bone examinations of the remains revealed that it was a young adult specimen. It is believed that cruralispennia reached their maximum size within a year. This is where the genus differs from other enantiornithes, which typically grew for several years.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Min Wang, Jingmai K. O'Connor, Yanhong Pan, Zhonghe Zhou: A bizarre Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird with unique crural feathers and an ornithuromorph plow-shaped pygostyle . In: Nature Communications . 8, January 31, 2017, p. 14141. doi : 10.1038 / ncomms14141 .