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| Parapengornis eurycaudatus
Hu, O’Connor & Zhou, 2015.
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Abstract
We describe a new enantiornithine bird, Parapengornis eurycaudatus gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning, China. Although morphologically similar to previously described pengornithids Pengornis houi, Pengornis IVPP V18632, and Eopengornis martini, morphological differences indicate it represents a new taxon of the Pengornithidae. Based on new information from this specimen we reassign IVPP V18632 to Parapengornis sp. The well preserved pygostyle of the new specimen elucidates the morphology of this element for the clade, which is unique in pengornithids among Mesozoic birds. Similarities with modern scansores such as woodpeckers may indicate a specialized vertical climbing and clinging behavior that has not previously been inferred for early birds. The new specimen preserves a pair of fully pennaceous rachis-dominated feathers like those in the holotype of Eopengornis martini; together with the unique morphology of the pygostyle, this discovery lends evidence to early hypotheses that rachis-dominated feathers may have had a functional significance. This discovery adds to the diversity of ecological niches occupied by enantiornithines and if correct reveals are remarkable amount of locomotive differentiation among Enantiornithes.
Systematic Paleontology
Aves Linnaeus, 1758
Ornithothoraces Chiappe, 1995
Enantiornithes Walker, 1981
Pengornithidae Wang et al., 2014
Parapengornis eurycaudatus gen. et sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:023BF172-3901-4C81-8E78-3BBA9DCCED9B
Holotype: IVPP V18687 (Fig 1), a nearly complete and articulated individual preserved in a single slab, missing only the distal portion of the sternum and some parts of the left hand and right foot, with impressions of the remiges and rectrices.
Locality and Horizon: Lingyuan, Chaoyang, Liaoning, China, Jiufotang Formation, Early Cretaceous.
Etymology: Parapengornis is composed of the Latin prefix ‘para’ and Pengornis indicating the close relationship between the new taxon and Pengornis. The species name eurycaudatus, ‘eury’ means broad and ‘caudatus’ means tail in Latin, indicating the unique broad and laterally expanded pygostyle of the new taxon.
Han Hu, Jingmai K. O’Connor and Zhonghe Zhou. 2015. A New Species of Pengornithidae (Aves: Enantiornithes) from the Lower Cretaceous of China Suggests a Specialized Scansorial Habitat Previously Unknown in Early Birds. PLoS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126791
