Parapengornis

near Pengornis (beside the Peng bird)

• para · Greek · near, beside
• Peng · Chinese · giant mythical bird
• ornis · Greek · bird

The name combines the Greek "para" (near or beside) with Pengornis, an earlier-named related bird. Pengornis itself joins "Peng", a giant mythical bird in Chinese tradition, with the Greek "ornis" (bird). The name signals that Parapengornis is a close relative of Pengornis.

Named by

Hu, O'Connor and Zhou

Year named

2015

Period

Early Cretaceous

Found in

Huajiying Formation, Hebei Province, China

An enantiornithine bird (family Pengornithidae) from the Jehol Biota. Birds are living dinosaurs, so it counts as an avian dinosaur. The type species is Parapengornis eurycaudatus. Details such as the exact stage are omitted because I'm not certain of them.