Xiangornis

Name: Xiangornis.
Phonetic: Ze-ang-or-nis.
Named By: D.‭ ‬-Y.‭ ‬Hu,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Xu,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Hou‭ & ‬C.‭ ‬Sullivan‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Aves,‭ ‬Ornithothoraces,‭ ‬Enantiornithes.
Species: X.‭ ‬shenmi‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Uncertain.
Size: Unavailable.
Known locations: China,‭ ‬Liaoning Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Jiufutang Formation.
Time period: Aptian of the Formation.
Fossil representation: Partial post cranial remains.

       Xiangornis is a genus of enantiornithine bird from the early Cretaeous of China.‭ ‬The enantiornithine birds are considered separate from the ornithomorph birds,‭ ‬yet Xiangornis shows features that are common to both groups.‭ ‬Though this could simply be a case of convergent evolution with similar features being adapted by both groups,‭ ‬it has blurred the distinction line between these groups even further.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new enantiornithine bird from the Lower Cretaceous of Western Liaoning,‭ ‬China,‭ ‬and its implications for early avian evolution.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬32‭(‬3‭)‬:639-645‭ ‬-‭ ‬D.‭ ‬-Y.‭ ‬Hu,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Xu,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Hou‭ & ‬C.‭ ‬Sullivan‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.



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