Songlingornis Explained

Songlingornis is an extinct genus of ornithuromorph dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning (PRC).^[1] The age of these rocks is somewhat disputed, but probably around the early Aptian, 125-120 million years ago. Only one species, Songlingornis linghensis, is known at present.

It was a close relative of Yanornis and together with this and Yixianornis may form a clade.^[2] It is sometimes considered to be the same genus as Yanornis (which, described after Songlingornis, would then be merged into that taxon),^[3] but this is not universally accepted.^[4]

References

• (2006): Insight into the evolution of avian flight from a new clade of Early Cretaceous ornithurines from China and the morphology of Yixianornis grabaui. Journal of Anatomy 208 (3):287-308. PDF fulltext Electronic Appendix
• (2004) Enantiornithine Bird with Diapsidian Skull and Its Dental Development in the Early Cretaceous in Liaoning, China. Acta Geologica Sinica 78(1): 1–7.
• (1997) Mesozoic Birds of China, Phoenix Valley Provincial Aviary, Taiwan: 153 pp.
• (2004): The Theropod Database: Phylogeny of taxa. Retrieved 2013-MAR-02.

Notes and References

1. Hou (1997)
2. Mortimer (2004), Clarke et al. (2006)
3. Gong et al. (2004)
4. Mortimer (2004)