Name:
Longipteryx
(Long wing).
Phonetic: Long-ip-teh-riks.
Named By: F. Zhang, Z. Zhou, L. Hou
& G. Gu - 2000.
Classification: Chordata, Dinosauria,
Theropoda, Enantiornithes, Longipterygidae.
Species: L. chaoyangensis
(type).
Diet: Piscivore?
Size: Skeletal length about 15 centimetres long.
Known locations: China, Liaoning Province -
Jiufotang Formation.
Time period: Aptian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete skull and
skeleton articulated on a slab.
Longipteryx is a genus of enantiornithine bird that lived in China during the later stages of the early Cretaceous, and when compared to other enantiornithine birds living at the time, Longipteryx had exceptionally good adaptations for flying and perching.
Further reading
- Early diversification of birds: evidence from a new opposite
bird. - Chinese Science Bulletin 45(24):2650-2657. - F.
Zhang, Z. Zhou, L. Hou & G. Gu - 2000.