Category
page 1Aptian birds

Jeholornis
Jeholornis (meaning "Jehol bird") is a genus of avialan dinosaurs that lived between approximately 122 and 120 million years ago during the early Cretaceous Period in China. Fossil Jeholornis were first discovered in the Jiufotang Formation in Hebei Province, China (in what was previously Rehe Province, also known as Jehol—hence the name) and additional specimens have been found in the older Yixian Formation.

Yanornis martini
Yanornis () is an extinct genus of fish-eating Early Cretaceous birds. Two species have been described, both from Liaoning province, China: Yanornis martini, based on several fossils found in the 120-million-year-old Jiufotang Formation at Chaoyang, and Yanornis guozhangi, from the 124-million-year-old Yixian Formation.

Gansus yumenensis
Gansus is a genus of aquatic avialans that lived during the Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) period in what are now Gansu and Liaoning provinces, western China. The rock layers from which their fossils have been recovered are dated to 120 million years ago. It was first described in 1984 on the basis of an isolated left leg. It is the oldest-known member of the Ornithurae, the group which includes modern birds (Neornithes) and extinct related groups, such as Ichthyornis and Hesperornithes.

Sapeornis chaoyangensis
Sapeornis is a monotypic genus of avialan dinosaurs which lived during the early Cretaceous period (late Barremian to early Aptian, roughly 125-120 mya). Sapeornis contains only one species, Sapeornis chaoyangensis.
Dalianraptor
Dalianraptor (meaning "Dalian thief") is a dubious, possibly chimeric, genus of theropod dinosaurs from the Jiufotang Formation of China, dating to the Early Cretaceous. It was initially believed to have been a possible dromaeosaurid before it was described in 2005.

Longipterygidae
Longipterygidae is an extinct family of early enantiornithean avialans from the Early Cretaceous epoch of China and possibly Spain. All definitive specimens of this family come from the Jiufotang Formation and Yixian Formation, dating to the early Aptian age, 125–120 million years ago.
Shenqiornis mengi
Shenqiornis is a genus of enantiornithean dinosaurs. It was found in the Qiaotou Member of the Huajiying Formation of Hebei Province, China, and is therefore of uncertain age. The Qiaotou Member may correlate with the more well-known Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation, and so probably is dated to the Aptian, around 122 million years ago.
Zhongjianornis
Zhongjianornis is a genus of beaked, pigeon-sized birds from the early Cretaceous period of China. It is known from one fossil found at Jianchang, Liaoning Province, in rocks of the Jiufotang Formation, representing the type species Zhongjianornis yangi.
Cratonavis
Cratonavis (meaning "Craton bird") is an extinct genus of pygostylian avialian from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning Province, China. The genus contains a single species, C. zhui, known from a complete skeleton.
Bohaiornis
thumb|Reconstructed skull
Bohaiornis is a genus of enantiornithean dinosaurs. Fossils have been found from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China. The only known species, Bohaiornis guoi, was named by Dongyu Hu, Li Li, Lianhaim Hou and Xing Xu in 2011 on the basis of a fully articulated and well-preserved skeleton of a sub-adult. This specimen, LPM (Liaoning Paleontological Museum) B00167, preserved two long, ribbon-like feathers attached to the tail rather than a fan of shorter pennaceous feathers. It was similar to the slightly older Eoenantiornis, but much large
Jianchangornis
Jianchangornis a genus of basal ornithuromorph dinosaurs. Fossils were recovered from the Jiufotang Formation at Liaoning, China.
Fukuipteryx
Fukuipteryx is an extinct genus of basal avialan dinosaurs found in Early Cretaceous deposits from Japan's Kitadani Formation. It contains one species, Fukuipteryx prima.
Yixianornis
Yixianornis (meaning "Yixian Formation bird") is a bird genus from the early Cretaceous period. Its remains have been found in the Jiufotang Formation at Chaoyang (People's Republic of China) dated to the early Aptian age, around 120 million years ago. Only one species, Yixianornis grabaui, is known at present. The specific name, grabaui, is named after American paleontologist Amadeus William Grabau, who surveyed China in the early 20th century.
Beiguornis
Beiguornis is a genus of bohaiornithid dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Longjiang Formation of Inner Mongolia, China. The genus contains a single species, Beiguornis khinganensis. Beiguornis is the first and only enantiornithine known from the Longjiang Formation. In the phylogenetic analysis conducted by the describing authors, Beiguornis formed a monophyletic group with the bohaiornithids Sulcavis and Zhouornis.
left|thumb|222x222px|Holotype specimen of the related Zhouornis
Yumenornis
Yumenornis is an extinct genus of basal ornithuromorph dinosaurs known from the Early Cretaceous Xiagou Formation of Changma Basin, Gansu Province of northwestern China. Yumenornis was first named by Ya-Ming Wang, Jingmai O'Connor, Da-Qing Li and Hai-Lu You in 2013 and the type species is Yumenornis huangi.
Schizooura lii
Schizooura is a genus under the classification of basal ornithuromorph dinosaurs, which are dinosaurs that are relatives of modern birds. This feathery creature was from the Early Cretaceous period (125.5 million years ago) in modern-day western Liaoning, China The Schizooura was a ground forager, meaning it collected whatever it could find from the floor. The bird evolved differently compared to other modern birds, as its beak is toothless. The remains were discovered in Jiufotang Formation deposits. Any information about the bird is relatively unknown, as only one fossil was ever discovered.
Longusunguis
Longusunguis is an extinct genus of bohaiornithid enantiornithean dinosaur known from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, northeastern China. It contains a single species, Longusunguis kurochkini.
Bohaiornithidae
Bohaiornithidae is a group of early enantiornithean stem-birds from the early Cretaceous Period of China. All undisputed Bohaiornithidae specimens come from the northeast of present-day China – specifically, the eastern and southern foothills of the Greater Khingan mountains –, and date to the early Aptian age, roughly 125–120 million years ago. As of 2024 they are not certainly known from outside this limited region and timeframe, even though there and then they were a prominent – and probably predatory, unlike the bulk of their relatives – element of the local fauna,
Parabohaiornis
Parabohaiornis is an extinct genus of bohaiornithid enantiornithean dinosaur known from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, northeastern China. It contains a single species, Parabohaiornis martini.
Chongmingia
Chongmingia is a genus of basal avialan belonging to Pygostylia that lived during the Aptian. It was found in the Jiufotang Formation in Chaoyang, China, and was described by Wang et al., 2016. The name comes from the word Chongming, referring to a Chinese mythological bird, and the specific epithet is in honor of Mr. Xiaoting Zheng.
Kompsornis
Kompsornis (meaning "elegant bird") is an extinct genus of avialan dinosaurs that lived during the Early Cretaceous period of China. The type and only known species is Kompsornis longicaudus; the specific name means "long-tailed". It is known from only a single fossil specimen from the Jiufotang Formation. Kompsornis was closely related to the well-known Jeholornis, another long-tailed avialan from China, but differs from it in features of its skeleton, particularly the fusion and growth rate of its bones. Like other jeholornithiforms, Kompsornis was a long-tailed avialan with long wings and p
Zhouornis
upright|thumb|left|Referred specimen
Brevidentavis zhangi
Brevidentavis (meaning "short-toothed bird") is a genus of ornithuromorph dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Xiagou Formation of Gansu Province, China. The genus contains a single species, Brevidentavis zhangi, known from a specimen including a partial skull and cervical vertebrae. The Brevidentavis holotype shows unusually blunt teeth in its lower jaw, which the describing authors suggest may indicate a specialized diet. Its dentition shows similarities with those of hesperornitheans, and indeed it may be an early member of that group.
Piscivoravis
Piscivoravis is an extinct genus of fish-eating ornithuromorph dinosaurs known from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation (Aptian age) of western Liaoning Province, northeastern China. Piscivoravis was first named by Shuang Zhou, Zhonghe Zhou and Jingmai O'Connor in 2013 and the type species is Piscivoravis lii. Phylogenetic analysis places Piscivoravis in a more derived position than Archaeorhynchus, in a polytomy with Jianchangornis, Patagopteryx, and the clade including all more derived ornithuromorphs.
Chaoyangia
Chaoyangia is an extinct genus of euornithean birds, containing the single species Chaoyangia beishanensis. This species is known from a single fossil specimen consisting of a partial skeleton including vertebra, ribs, hips, and upper legs. The specimen (museum catalog number IVPP V9934) was discovered in the Jiufotang Formation near the city of Chaoyang in Liaoning province, China. This rock formation has been dated to the Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous period, 120 million years ago.
Songlingornis
Songlingornis is an extinct genus of ornithuromorph dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning (PRC). 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.
Changmaornis
Changmaornis is an extinct genus of basal ornithuromorph dinosaur known from the Early Cretaceous Xiagou Formation of Changma Basin, Gansu Province of northwestern China. Changmaornis was first named by Ya-Ming Wang, Jingmai K. O'Connor, Da-Qing Li and Hai-Lu You in 2013 and the type species is Changmaornis houi.
Bellulornis
Bellulornis ("beautiful bird") is an extinct genus of ornithuromorph avialan. It is known from a complete postcranial skeleton lacking the skull which was unearthed from the rocks of the Early Cretaceous-aged Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning Province, China. It was originally given the genus name Bellulia, meaning "beautiful", in reference to the fact that the skeleton was preserved in a pose reminiscent of a dancer. However, it was discovered after publication that the genus Bellulia was preoccupied by an extant moth. The authors then amended the name to Bellulornis, adding the Ancient Greek s
Jiuquanornis
Jiuquanornis is an extinct genus of basal ornithuromorph dinosaur known from the Early Cretaceous Xiagou Formation of Changma Basin, Gansu Province of northwestern China. Jiuquanornis was first named by Ya-Ming Wang, Jingmai K. O'Connor, Da-Qing Li and Hai-Lu You in 2013 and the type species is Jiuquanornis niui.
Omnivoropteryx
Omnivoropteryx (meaning "omnivorous wing") is a genus of primitive flying avialan from the early Cretaceous Upper Jiufotang Formation of China. The authors who described Omnivoropteryx, Stephen Czerkas and Qiang Ji, stated that their specimen closely resembles Sapeornis, but the pubis was longer and, since no skull was known for Sapeornis, they did not consider the two names synonyms. The later discovery of Sapeornis skulls shows that they were indeed similar to Omnivoropteryx. This may make Omnivoropteryx a junior synonym of Sapeornis, and the name may be abandoned.