Dalingheornis

Dalingheornis; Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 122 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	Theropoda
Clade:	Avialae
Clade:	†Enantiornithes
Genus:	†Dalingheornis; Zhang et al., 2006
Species:	†D. liweii
Binomial name
	†Dalingheornis liweii; Zhang et al., 2006

Dalingheornis is a genus of enantiornithine birds which lived during the early Cretaceous period, about 122Ma ago, and are known from a single juvenile fossil found in the upper part of the Yixian Formation at Dawangzhangzi, Liaoning province, People's Republic of China. It is the first known Mesozoic bird with heterodactyl feet specifically adapted for climbing, and was probably among the most arboreal of the enantiornithines. Unlike its relatives, it had an unusually long (17mm) skeletal tail made up of 20 vertebrae, similar to the tails of dromaeosaurids.^[1]

References

^ Zhang, Z., Hou, L., Hasegawa, Y., O'Connor, J., Martin, L.D. and Chiappe, L.M. (2006). "The first Mesozoic heterodactyl bird from China." Acta Geologica Sinica, 80(5): 631-635.

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[1] Zhang, Z., Hou, L., Hasegawa, Y., O'Connor, J., Martin, L.D. and Chiappe, L.M. (2006). "The first Mesozoic heterodactyl bird from China." Acta Geologica Sinica, 80(5): 631-635.

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