Cruralispennia

leg feather (feathered shin/leg)

• crus (cruralis) · Latin · leg, shin (crural)
• penna · Latin · feather

Cruralispennia combines the Latin words for "leg" (crus, cruralis) and "feather" (penna). The name appears to refer to the feathering preserved on the legs of the type specimen. It is a small, early enantiornithine bird, and its type species is Cruralispennia multidonta.

Named by

Wang et al.

Year named

2017

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stage

Hauterivian

Found in

Huajiying Formation, Hebei Province, northern China

A basal enantiornithine bird (avian dinosaur) notable for a primitive tail morphology, with a short pygostyle-like tail and a mix of primitive and advanced features. The exact stage and the precise rationale for the name are given with moderate confidence.