Bellulornis

Bellulornis
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
~122–118 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Clade: Avialae
Clade: Ornithuromorpha
Genus: †Bellulornis
Wang, Zhou, & Zhou, 2016
Type species
†Bellulornis rectusunguis
Wang, Zhou, & Zhou, 2016
Synonyms

Bellulornis ("beautiful bird") is an extinct genus of ornithuromorph avialan. It is known from a complete postcranial skeleton lacking the skull which was unearthed from the rocks of the Early Cretaceous-aged Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning Province, China. It was originally given the genus name Bellulia, meaning "beautiful", in reference to the fact that the skeleton was preserved in a pose reminiscent of a dancer. However, it was discovered after publication that the genus Bellulia was preoccupied by an extant moth. The authors then amended the name to Bellulornis, adding the Ancient Greek suffix meaning "bird".

References

  1. ↑ Wang, Min; Zhou, Zhonghe; Zhou, Shuang (2016). "A new basal ornithuromorph bird (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from the Early Cretaceous of China with implication for morphology of early Ornithuromorpha". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 176: 207–223. doi:10.1111/zoj.12302.
  2. ↑ Wang, Min; Zhou, Zhonghe; Zhou, Shuang (2016). "Renaming of Bellulia Wang, Zhou & Zhou, 2016". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 177 (3): 695. doi:10.1111/zoj.12397.