[D] Anchiornis huxleyi [sG] [T]
Describer
Xu, Zhao, Norell, Sullivan, Hone, Erickson, Wang, Han & Guo 2009
Time
Jurassic - Cretaceous
Classification
Saurischia Theropoda Tetanurae Coelurosauria Maniraptora Avialae
Diet
Carnivore
Fossilsite
Yaolugou locality, Jianchang County, western Liaoning, China
Info
Abstract: Recent fossil discoveries have substantially reduced the morphological gap between non-avian and avian dinosaurs, yet avians including Archaeopteryx differ from non-avian theropods in their limb proportions. In particular, avians have proportionally longer and more robust forelimbs that are capable of supporting a large aerodynamic surface. Here we report on a new maniraptoran dinosaur, Anchiornis huxleyi gen. et sp. nov., based on a specimen collected from lacustrine deposits of uncertain age in western Liaoning, China. With an estimated mass of 110 grams, Anchiornis is the smallest known non-avian theropod dinosaur. It exhibits some wrist features indicative of high mobility, presaging the wing-folding mechanisms seen in more derived birds and suggesting rapid evolution of the carpus. Otherwise, Anchiornis is intermediate in general morphology between non-avian and avian dinosaurs, particularly with regard to relative forelimb length and thickness, and represents a transitional step toward the avian condition. In contrast with some recent comprehensive phylogenetic analyses, our phylogenetic analysis incorporates subtle morphological variations and recovers a conventional result supporting the monophyly of Avialae
Etymology: Anchiornis is from the Greek ‘Anchi’ (meaning ‘nearby’) and ‘ornis’ (meaning bird), referring to the animal’s being very closely related to birds; the specific epithet honors T. H. Huxley, who pioneered research into avian origins.
Holotype: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) V14378, an articulated skeleton missing only the skull, the anterior and middle cervical vertebrae, and the posterior caudal vertebrae, with faint feather impressions preserved on the slab and counter slab
Diagnosis: A small maniraptoran dinosaur with the ventral surface of the coracoid sculptured by numerous small pits and an extremely short ischium (less than one-fourth of the femoral length).
Xu, Zhao, Norell, Sullivan, Hone, Erickson, Wang, Han & Guo 2009
Time
Jurassic - Cretaceous
Classification
Saurischia Theropoda Tetanurae Coelurosauria Maniraptora Avialae
Diet
Carnivore
Fossilsite
Yaolugou locality, Jianchang County, western Liaoning, China
Info
Abstract: Recent fossil discoveries have substantially reduced the morphological gap between non-avian and avian dinosaurs, yet avians including Archaeopteryx differ from non-avian theropods in their limb proportions. In particular, avians have proportionally longer and more robust forelimbs that are capable of supporting a large aerodynamic surface. Here we report on a new maniraptoran dinosaur, Anchiornis huxleyi gen. et sp. nov., based on a specimen collected from lacustrine deposits of uncertain age in western Liaoning, China. With an estimated mass of 110 grams, Anchiornis is the smallest known non-avian theropod dinosaur. It exhibits some wrist features indicative of high mobility, presaging the wing-folding mechanisms seen in more derived birds and suggesting rapid evolution of the carpus. Otherwise, Anchiornis is intermediate in general morphology between non-avian and avian dinosaurs, particularly with regard to relative forelimb length and thickness, and represents a transitional step toward the avian condition. In contrast with some recent comprehensive phylogenetic analyses, our phylogenetic analysis incorporates subtle morphological variations and recovers a conventional result supporting the monophyly of Avialae
Etymology: Anchiornis is from the Greek ‘Anchi’ (meaning ‘nearby’) and ‘ornis’ (meaning bird), referring to the animal’s being very closely related to birds; the specific epithet honors T. H. Huxley, who pioneered research into avian origins.
Holotype: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) V14378, an articulated skeleton missing only the skull, the anterior and middle cervical vertebrae, and the posterior caudal vertebrae, with faint feather impressions preserved on the slab and counter slab
Diagnosis: A small maniraptoran dinosaur with the ventral surface of the coracoid sculptured by numerous small pits and an extremely short ischium (less than one-fourth of the femoral length).