This pigeon size bird from the Early Cretaceous of China was close to the ancestry of modern birds. The front half of a fossil of Yanornis has been combined with the tail of the dromaeosaur dinosaur Microraptor to form the paleontological forgery "Archaeoraptor".
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Name
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Yanornis martini
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Authority
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Zhou & Zhang, 2001
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Meaning of the generic name
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Yan (from the Yan dynasty) bird.
| | | Meaning of the specific name
| | In honor of Larry D. Martin for his contribution to the study of Mesozoic birds.
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Size
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Skull length: 6.5 cm, Length: 30 cm?
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Remains
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Holotype
(IVPP V12558) : Complete skeleton.
Referred Specimens: V10996 (incomplete skeleton).
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Age and Distribution
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Horizon: Jiutotang Formation, Early Cretaceous (Aptian).
Locality: Chaoyang City and Yixian County, Liaoning Province, China.
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Classification
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Aves Ornithuromorpha Yanornithiformes Yanornithidae
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Further Reading
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X. Zhou and F. Zhang. 2001. Two new ornithurine birds from the Early Cretaceous of western Liaoning, China . Chinese Science Bulletin 46(15):1258-1264
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Synonyms |
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Archaeoraptor liaoningensis Sloan, 1999 (nomen nudum); Archaeovolans repatriatus Czerkas & Xu, 2002
| |  Line drawing of the holotype (IVPP V12558) of Yanornis martini. From Zhou & Zhang, 2001. |
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