Open Paleo

Zhengheornis

Wang et al., 2026

"Zhenghe" (Mandarin), for Zhenghe County where the holotype was found, + "ornis" (Greek), bird

154.8–143.1 million years ago Kimmeridgian–Tithonian, Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic stages

Zhengheornis is an extinct genus of basal avialan known from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian–Tithonian ages) Nanyuan Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, Zhengheornis buyu, known from a partial skeleton with feather traces, preserved on a slab and counterslab.

Diagnosis

  1. Short tail comprising 15 caudal vertebrae, shorter than the combined length of the femur, tibia, and metatarsal III
  2. Final two caudal vertebrae box-like with bluntly convex caudal ends
  3. Slender ischium with a knob-like, distally located obturator process and no posterior process
  4. Manual phalanx III-1 shorter than manual phalanx III-2
  5. Metatarsal I articulates with metatarsal II at its distal third-length
  6. Short hallux with an ungual smaller than those of the other pedal digits

Species

Zhengheornis buyu Wang et al., 2026

Type species

"buyu" (Mandarin), unexpected, from the ancient Chinese book Guoyu, referring to the unique tail and pelvic morphologies

Holotype
IVPP V34168 , Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Material
Articulated and partially complete skeleton, with most limb bones preserved as molds, and feathers preserved on a slab and counter slab
Horizon
lower Nanyuan Formation, Kimmeridgian–Tithonian, Late Jurassic , 154.8–143.1 million years ago
Locality
Yangyuan Village, Fujian, China Wang and colleagues (2026) place the holotype in layer six of the excavated section, above the layer that yielded Fujianvenator. In Xu and colleagues' (2023) log of that section, layer six lies above a tuffite dated 149.9 ± 1.1 Ma, Kimmeridgian on the ICS chart v2024/12, and the ignimbrite that overlies the fossil-bearing sediments is dated 148 ± 1.9 Ma, which is Tithonian. The "Tithonian stage" both papers give belongs to an older chart.

References

  1. Wang, M.; Tang, J.; Deng, K.; Dong, L.; Xu, L.; Xu, X.; Lin, M.; Du, H.; Lin, G.; Chen, R.; Zhang, C.; Zhou, Z. (2026). Jurassic avialan reveals stepwise evolution of bony tail in birds. Science Advances 12(27): eaeb5202. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). doi:10.1126/sciadv.aeb5202 wang2026a
  2. Xu, L.; Wang, M.; Chen, R.; Dong, L.; Lin, M.; Xu, X.; Tang, J.; You, H.; Zhou, G.; Wang, L.; He, W.; Li, Y.; Zhang, C.; Zhou, Z. (2023). A new avialan theropod from an emerging Jurassic terrestrial fauna. Nature 621(7978): 336-343. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06513-7

    Dates the excavated section of the lower Nanyuan Formation from whose layer six the holotype comes.

    xu2023a