Chaoyangia

from Chaoyang (place in Liaoning, China)

• Chaoyang · Chinese (place name) · Chaoyang, a city in Liaoning Province, China
• -ia · Latin · place suffix, 'land/region of'

Chaoyangia is named after Chaoyang, the city and region in western Liaoning Province, China, where the fossil was found. The name is the place name plus the Latinised suffix "-ia", meaning "of/from" that place. The type species is Chaoyangia beishanensis.

Named by

Hou and Zhang

Year named

1993

Period

Early Cretaceous

Found in

Jiufotang Formation, Chaoyang, Liaoning, China

A small early bird (avialan), so a dinosaur in the cladistic sense. It is usually placed among early ornithuromorph birds. The known material is fragmentary, and its exact relationships and age have been debated. Stage details are omitted because I am not certain of them.