Two new ornithurine birds from the Early Cretaceous of western Liaoning,China

作     者：Zhonghe Zhou Fucheng Zhang 

作者机构：Chinese Acad Sci Inst Vertebrate Paleontol & Paleoanthropol Beijing 100044 Peoples R China 

出 版 物：《Chinese Science Bulletin》 (CHINESE SCIENCE BULLETIN)

年 卷 期：2001年第46卷第15期

页      面：1258-1264页

核心收录：

学科分类：070903[理学-古生物学与地层学(含：古人类学)] 0709[理学-地质学] 07[理学] 

基　　金：The work wassupported by the Special Funds for Major State Basic Research Projects of China (Grant No. G2000077700) the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (Grant No. 40025208) the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant Nos 

主　　题：Ornithurae origin radiation Jiufotang Formation Yanornis Yixianornis 

摘      要：We describe two new ornithurine birds from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, northeast China: Yanornis martini gen. et sp. nov. and Yixianornis grabaui gen. et sp. nov. They represent the best fossil record of ornithurine birds known from the Early Cretaceous. They are more advanced than the most primitive ornithurine Liaoningornis, and are more similar to the other two Chinese Early Cretaceous ornithurines Chaoyangia and Songlingornis. Compared with Confuciusornis, Liaoxiornls and Eoenantiornis from the same age, the two new birds show remarkable advanced characteristics and suggest the presence of powerful flight capability like modern birds. Compared with Yixianornis and Chaoyangia, Yanornis is larger, with a more elongated skull and relatively long wings. The new discoveries indicate that by the Early Cretaceous both enantiornithine and ornithurine birds had already radiated significantly. The flight structures of Yanornis and Yixianornis are hardly distinguishable from