Songlingornis

Songlingornis
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 120 Ma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Clade: Ornithuromorpha
Family: Songlingornithidae
Genus: Songlingornis
Hou, 1997
Species:  S. linghensis
Binomial name
Songlingornis linghensis
Hou, 1997

Songlingornis is a prehistoric bird genus from the Early Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning (PRC).[1] The age of these rocks is somewhat disputed, but probably around the early Aptian, 125-120 million years ago. Only one species, Songlingornis linghensis, is known at present.

It was a close relative of Yanornis and together with this and Yixianornis forms a clade of early modern birds.[2] It is sometimes considered to be the same genus as Yanornis (which, described after Songlingornis, would then be merged into that taxon),[3] but this is not universally accepted.[4]

Footnotes

  1. Hou (1997)
  2. Mortimer (2004), Clarke et al. (2006)
  3. Gong et al. (2004)
  4. Mortimer (2004)

References

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