Boluochia

"(Animal) from Boluochi"

• Boluochi · Chinese (place name) · Boluochi, a fossil locality in Liaoning, China
• -ia · Latin · suffix meaning 'pertaining to' a place

The name refers to Boluochi, the locality in western Liaoning Province, China, where the type specimen was found. It is combined with the Latin-style suffix "-ia", which is commonly used to form place-based names. Boluochia is a small enantiornithine bird, so it is an early member of the avian dinosaurs.

Named by

Zhou

Year named

1995

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stage

Aptian

Found in

Jiufotang Formation, Liaoning, China

Boluochia is an enantiornithine ("opposite bird"), so it is a bird. Birds are avian dinosaurs, so it counts as a dinosaur in the cladistic sense. The type species is Boluochia zhengi. The etymology of the place name comes from my recollection and is not firmly verified.