Jianchangornis

Jianchang bird

• Jianchang · Chinese (place name) · Jianchang County, Liaoning, China
• ornis · Greek · bird

The name combines Jianchang, the county in western Liaoning Province, China, where the fossil was found, with the Greek word for bird. It means "Jianchang bird" and marks the place of discovery. The only named species, J. microdonta, refers to its small teeth.

Named by

Zhou, Zhang and Li

Year named

2009

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stage

Aptian

Found in

Jiufotang Formation, Jianchang, Liaoning, China

A primitive toothed bird, described as a basal ornithuromorph (ornithurine). Birds are living dinosaurs, so it counts as an avian dinosaur, though it is not a non-avian dinosaur. Stage and formation details are from memory, so check them against the original description.