Parahongshanornis
pair-ah-hong-shan-OR-nis /ˌpɛrəhɒŋʃænˈɔːrnɪs/
Accepted genus
near Hongshan bird
- para · Greek · beside, near
- Hongshan · Chinese · 'Red Mountain', the Hongshan culture region of northeastern China, also the root of Hongshanornis
- ornis · Greek · bird
The name combines the Greek 'para' (beside, near) with Hongshanornis, an earlier-named Chinese Early Cretaceous bird. It signals that the animal is closely similar to Hongshanornis. Hongshanornis itself refers to the Hongshan culture region of northeastern China and the Greek 'ornis' (bird).
- Year named
- 2011
- Period
- Early Cretaceous
- Stage
- Aptian
- Found in
- Jiufotang Formation, Liaoning, China
A small early bird (an ornithuromorph, related to Hongshanornis). Birds are avian dinosaurs, so it counts as a dinosaur in the modern sense. The type species is P. chaoyangensis. I am not sure of the exact author list, so named_by is left blank.