Pengornis

Peng bird

• Peng · Chinese · giant mythical bird
• ornis · Greek · bird

The name combines "Peng", a giant mythical bird in Chinese legend, with the Greek word for bird, "ornis". It was chosen for an unusually large early bird from the Early Cretaceous of China. The type species, Pengornis houi, honors Hou Lianhai, a Chinese paleontologist who studied early birds.

Named by

Zhou, Clarke and Zhang

Year named

2008

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stage

Aptian

Found in

Jiufotang Formation, Liaoning Province, China

Pengornis is an enantiornithine bird, a member of the Pengornithidae. Birds are avian dinosaurs, so it counts as a dinosaur in the modern sense. The type species is Pengornis houi.