Serikornis

silky bird

• serikos · Greek/Latin · silken, silky (from the same root as 'silk')
• ornis · Greek · bird

Serikornis means "silky bird". The name refers to the animal's simple, hair-like or fur-like feather covering, which the describers likened to silk. The type species is S. sungei, named in honour of Sun Ge, a Chinese palaeontologist.

Named by

Lefèvre et al.

Year named

2017

Period

Late Jurassic

Found in

Tiaojishan Formation, Liaoning Province, China

A small, feathered paravian theropod related to Anchiornis and other early paravians. It is known from a single specimen with well-preserved plumage, including simple body feathers and pennaceous feathers on the limbs and tail. Its exact placement within Paraves (for example, as a basal troodontid or a close relative of avialans) has been debated.