A new diminutive species of bohaiornithid enantiornithine (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group, northern China.

ABSTRACT: Enantiornithes are the most successful early-diverging avian clade, their fossils revealing important information regarding the structure of Cretaceous avifaunas and the parallel refinement of flight alongside the ornithuromorph lineage that includes modern birds. The most diverse recognized family of Early Cretaceous enantiornithines is the Bohaiornithidae, known from the Jehol Biota in northeastern China. Members of this clade enhance our understanding of intraclade morphological diversity and elucidate the independent evolution of this unique lineage. Here, we report on a new specimen of bohaiornithid, Neobohaiornis lamadongensis gen. et sp. nov., from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in western Liaoning, China. The holotype specimen is considerably smaller than all other known

SUBMITTER: Shen C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11682239 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature