Open Paleo

Serikornis

Lefèvre et al., 2017 SAY-ree-KOR-niss

From Greek 'serikos' (silken, of silk) + 'ornis' (bird), meaning 'silk bird', likely referring to the soft, silky appearance of the preserved feathers.

161.5–154.8 million years ago Oxfordian, Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic stages

Serikornis is a genus of small, feathered anchiornithid dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of Liaoning, China. It is represented by the type species Serikornis sungei. Some researchers believe it is a junior synonym of Anchiornis.

Under dispute

Serikornis sungei was erected as a distinct basal paravian, the sister taxon of Eosinopteryx (Lefèvre and colleagues, 2017), but its status as a separate genus has been challenged. Agnolín and colleagues (2019) rejected each of its proposed autapomorphies — arguing that the enlarged anterior maxillary teeth are loose and of variable size, that the distinctive ischial process is taphonomically distorted, and that the coracoid character rests on a surface not exposed in the holotype — and concluded that it is a junior synonym of Anchiornis huxleyi. That synonymy has not been adopted by subsequent workers, who continue to score Serikornis as a distinct taxon in phylogenetic analyses (e.g. Foth and colleagues, 2025); it is retained as a valid anchiornithid.

Diagnosis

  1. Four anterior maxillary teeth twice as long as others regarding crown height
  2. Ventrodistal process of ischium narrow, hook-like, strongly deflected caudodorsally at distal end
  3. Coracoid tuber well-developed and laterally projected, forming subglenoid shelf along caudoventral margin
  4. Distal end of lateral process of coracoid thickened, forming ventral rounded bump
  5. Smooth ventral side of coracoid devoid of small pits

Species

Serikornis sungei Lefèvre et al., 2017

Type species

Named for Ge Sun, in reference to whom the genus name translates as 'Ge Sun's silk bird'.

Holotype
PMOL-AB00200 , Paleontological Museum of Liaoning
Material
Single complete articulated skeleton with associated integumentary structures preserved on slab.
Horizon
Tiaojishan Formation, Oxfordian, Late Jurassic , 161.5–154.8 million years ago
Locality
Daxishan village, Linglongta, Liaoning, China

References

  1. Lefèvre, U.; Cau, A.; Cincotta, A.; Hu, D.; Chinsamy, A.; Escuillié, F.; Godefroit, P. (2017). A new Jurassic theropod from China documents a transitional step in the macrostructure of feathers. The Science of Nature 104(9-10). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1007/s00114-017-1496-y

    Erected Serikornis sungei on the articulated holotype (PMOL-AB00200), diagnosing it by maxillary, ischial, and coracoid characters.

    lefèvre2017a
  2. Agnolín, F. L.; Motta, M. J.; Brissón Egli, F.; Lo Coco, G.; Novas, F. E. (2019). Paravian Phylogeny and the Dinosaur-Bird Transition: An Overview. Frontiers in Earth Science 6: 252. doi:10.3389/feart.2018.00252

    Rejected each proposed autapomorphy of Serikornis and treated it as a junior synonym of Anchiornis huxleyi.

    agnolín2019a
  3. Foth, C.; van de Kamp, T.; Tischlinger, H.; Kantelis, T.; Carney, R. M.; Zuber, M.; Hamann, E.; Wallaard, J. J. W.; Lenz, N.; Rauhut, O. W. M.; Frey, E. (2025). A new Archaeopteryx from the lower Tithonian Mörnsheim Formation at Mühlheim (Late Jurassic). Fossil Record 28(1): 17-43. doi:10.3897/fr.28.131671

    Continued to score Serikornis as a distinct taxon in a phylogenetic analysis, not adopting the proposed synonymy with Anchiornis.

    foth2025a
  4. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length and mass estimates, and the appearance features.

    paul2024a