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Confuciusornis Division
Confuciusornis is a genus of crow-sized, primitive, birds from the
Early Cretaceous of China, approximately 120 million years ago. Like modern
birds, Confuciusornis had a toothless beak, but close relatives of modern
birds such as Hesperornis and Ichthyornis were toothed, indicating
that the loss of teeth occurred convergently in Confuciusornis and living
birds. It is the oldest known bird to have a beak.
Order:
Confuciusornithiformes
Family:
Confuciusornithidae
Genus: Confuciusornis
Image Code FR239 |
Catalogue No.: FR239
Description:
Confuciusornis sanctus.
Locality: Yixian Formation,
Sihetun, Liaoning Province, China. Early Cretaceous Period, approximately
125 MYA.
Confuciusornis sanctus (the sacred bird of confucius) is
the earliest known beaked bird. Discovered in 1994, Confuciusornis
represents an important side branch in avian evolution. Though
Confuciusornis and its descendants all became extinct, it is the earliest
known bird to abandon its reptillian teeth in favour of a light-weight
keratin beak. Remains of Confuciusornis are found at an early Cretaceous
fossil site known as Sihetun in the Liaoning Province of northeastern China.
Because of its evolutionary significance and exceptional preservation,
Confuciusornis is a highly significant fossil. Paleoimages replica.
Size: 360 X 275mm. |
Image Code FR240 |
Catalogue No.: FR240
Description:
Confuciusornis sanctus.
Yixian FM. Cretaceous Period. Liaoning Province, China.
Replica.
Confuciusornis is a
genus of crow-sized, primitive, birds from the Early Cretaceous of China,
approximately 125 MYA. Like modern birds, Confuciusornis had a
toothless beak, but close relatives of modern birds such as Hesperornis and
Ichthyornis were toothed, indicating that the loss of teeth occurred
convergently in Confuciusornis and living birds. It was named after the
Chinese moral philosopher Confucius (551-479 B.C.).
Size: 370 X 240mm. |
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