Jixiangornis

Jixiang bird

• Jixiang · Chinese · auspicious / lucky (a place name in Hebei Province, China, and also a Chinese word meaning 'good omen')
• ornis · Greek · bird

The name combines the Chinese word/place name "Jixiang" with the Greek word "ornis" meaning bird. "Jixiang" (吉祥) is a Chinese term meaning "auspicious" or "good omen," and the name also references the Jixiang locality in Hebei Province, China, where the fossil was discovered. Together the name means roughly "auspicious bird" or "Jixiang bird." It was named in recognition of both the find location and the culturally significant Chinese concept of good fortune.

Named by

Ji et al.

Year named

2002

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stage

Aptian

Found in

Jiufotang Formation, Liaoning Province, China

Jixiangornis is an early bird (Aves), not a non-avian dinosaur, though early birds are phylogenetically within Dinosauria. It is known from the Jiufotang Formation of China and is considered by some researchers to be a nomen dubium or possibly synonymous with other enantiornithine birds such as Jianchangornis, though its exact status has been debated. It should not be confused with non-avian dinosaurs.