Pengornis is the largest known enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous of northeast China. The name derives from "Peng", which refers to a mythological bird from Chinese folklore, and "-ornis", which means bird in Greek.
Pengornis is known from a single adult fossil, described by Zhou et al. in 2008. This holotype is in the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing China. Its accession number is IVPP V15336. It was collected from the Jiufotang Formation, at Dapingfang, Chaoyang, Liaoning China. A second, juvenile specimen was described by Hu, Zhou, and O'Connor in 2014.[1]
Pengornis shows characters of the humeral head, acromion, and anterior cervical vertebrae, that were previously known only in members of the Ornithurae. A phylogenetic analysis by Zhou et al. reduces to just three the number of characters that support enantiornithine monophyly. Thus, Pengornis supports the possibility that enantiornithines and Ornithurines may not be distinct clades.[2]
^Hu, H. et al. (2014) A subadult specimen of Pengornis and character evolution in Enantiornithes. Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 52: 77–97.
^Zhou, Z. et al. (2008) Insight into diversity, body size and morphological evolution from the largest Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird. Journal of Anatomy, 212, pp565–577. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2008.00880.x
Pengornis is the largest known enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous of northeast China. The name derives from "Peng", which refers to a mythological...
in size with some species. The largest species in this clade include Pengornis houi, Xiangornis shenmi, Zhouornis hani, and Mirarce eatoni, (with the...
much larger than most other Jehol enantiornitheans with the exception of Pengornis and Xiangornis. The smallest and youngest bohaiornithid specimens were...
enantiornitheans. One of the biggest Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird was Pengornis at 50 cm (1.6 ft) in length and skull length of 54.7 mm (2.15 in). Gargantuavis...
Jiufotang Formation China A member of Enantiornithes, a relative of Pengornis. Type species P. eurycaudatus. Patagorhacos Gen. et sp. nov. Valid Agnolin...
It has been recovered as a basal enantiornithean, the sister taxon of Pengornis, and in a polytomy with many other enantiornitheans. Falcatakely is known...
Pengornithidae is published by Miller et al. (2023), who report that Pengornis, Parapengornis and Yuanchuavis show adaptations for vertebrate carnivory...
†Pengornithidae Wang et al., 2014 Type genus †Pengornis Zhou, Clarke, & Zhang, 2008 Genera †Eopengornis †Pengornis †Parapengornis †Chiappeavis †?Falcatakely...
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