Alethoalaornis

probably "true wing bird"

• aletho- · Greek · true (probably from alethes)
• ala · Latin · wing
• ornis · Greek · bird

The name appears to combine Greek and Latin roots meaning "true", "wing" and "bird". I could not verify the authors' stated reason for choosing it, so the reading "true wing bird" is a likely interpretation, not a confirmed one. The genus is a small enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous of northern China.

Named by

Li et al.

Year named

2007

Period

Early Cretaceous

Found in

Huajiying Formation, Hebei Province, China

Alethoalaornis is an enantiornithine, an extinct group of early birds. Birds are avian dinosaurs, so it counts as a dinosaur in the broad sense. The type species is A. agilis (or similar spelling). I am not certain of the author list, the exact stages, or the etymology, so please check these against the original description.