A field guide to mesozoic birds and other winged dinosaurs
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A field guide to mesozoic birds and other winged dinosaurs

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19.07.2019 Views

Jianchang Confucius Bird Confuciusornis jianchangensis Time: 120 Ma ago Location: Liaoning, China Habitat: Jiufotang Formation, temperatesubtropical swamps dominated by ginkgo and conifer trees, set among shallow lakes and stagnant waterways. Size: WS unknown; BL 17cm (7in); TL unknown Features: Head small & round. Teeth absent. Beak short. Legs relatively long w/ short tarsus. Wings & rectrices unknown. Biology: Very similar in overall anatomy to other confuciusornithids, but in some ways more similar to modern birds (Cau 2010a). For example, the short torso w/ fewer vertebrae than other species & long ischium may suggest that this species is a confuciusornithid-like primitive euornithean or enantiornithean. Stomach contents reveal that this species fed at least partially on fish. Hengdaozi Great Wall Bird Changchengornis hengdaoziensis Time: 122 Ma ago Location: Liaoning, China Habitat: Upper Yixian Formation (see above) Size: WS 42cm (1.4ft); BL 20cm (8in); TL >30cm (1ft) Features: Very small. Beak long & hooked. Crown prominently round-crested. Wings short & relatively broad. Legs short w/ partially reversed hallux. Ribbon-tailed w/ single pair of rectrices smaller than in related species. Biology: Possibly semi-arboreal, but the smaller, unspecialized wings suggest a poor flier. Probably foraged primarily on the ground. Chaoyang SAPE Bird Sapeornis chaoyangensis Time: 120 Ma ago Location: Liaoning, China Habitat: Jiufotang Formation Size: WS 1.4m (4.6ft); BL 45cm (1.5ft); TL unknown Features: Head high & round with narrow snout. Eyes large. Forward-pointing teeth restricted to upper jaw tip. Lower jaw toothless. Wings extremely long w/ large claws and long primaries (third primary longest, first shortest). Tail short. Legs short & stout. Toes w/ very large, strongly hooked talons. Hallux reversed. Biology: Fossils found in both terrestrial & lake sediments, indicating wide distribution (possibly primarily inhabiting the canopy). Adept perchers, they may have climbed up tree trunks w/ the large wing claws to escape predators & spent much of their time climbing among high branches. Incapable of strong flapping flight, the extensive wings may have been used for extended gliding/soaring between trees. Herbivorous or omnivorous, probably folivores & seed-eaters, supplementing w/ fruits & invertebrates. The only well-supported member of the Omnivoropterygiformes, “omnivorous wings”, a bizarre early group of short-tailed birds, similar in some ways to the caenagnathiformes. Several additional species have been described, though they probably all represent growth stages of this single species. 116

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