Zhongornis

Name: Zhongornis ‭(‬Intermediate bird‭)‬.
Phonetic: Zong-or-niss.
Named By: C.‭ ‬Gao,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Chiappe,‭ ‬Q.‭ ‬Meng,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬K.‭ ‬O'Connor,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Wang,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Cheng‭ & ‬J.‭ ‬Liu‭ ‬-‭ ‬2008.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Aves,‭ ‬Avebrevicauda.
Species: Z.‭ ‬haoae‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Insectivore‭?
Size: Holotype‭ ‬8‭ ‬centimetres long.‭ ‬Adult size unknown.
Known locations: China‭ ‬-‭ ‬Yixian Formation.
Time period: Aptian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Juvenile individual preserved on a slab.

       Known from a single juvenile preserved on a slab,‭ ‬Zhongornis has been seen as an intermediary form between more primitive forms like Archaeopteyx which have long bony tails,‭ ‬and more advanced forms like Confuciusornis which had shorter bony tails.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new basal lineage of Early Cretaceous birds from China and its implications on the evolution of the avian tail.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Palaeontology‭ ‬51‭(‬4‭)‬:775-791.‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Gao,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Chiappe,‭ ‬Q.‭ ‬Meng,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬K.‭ ‬O'Connor,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Wang,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Cheng‭ & ‬J.‭ ‬Liu‭ ‬-‭ ‬2008.



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