Shanweiniao

fan-tailed bird

• shanwei · Chinese (Mandarin) · fan tail
• niao · Chinese (Mandarin) · bird

The name combines the Mandarin words "shanwei" (fan tail) and "niao" (bird), so it means "fan-tailed bird". It refers to the tail feathers, which were probably arranged in a fan shape. The type species is Shanweiniao cooperorum.

Named by

O'Connor et al.

Year named

2009

Period

Early Cretaceous

Found in

Yixian Formation, Liaoning Province, China

Shanweiniao is an enantiornithine, an early group of toothed, bird-like dinosaurs. It is an avialan, so it counts as an avian dinosaur in the broad sense, but it is not a non-avian dinosaur. It comes from the Jehol Biota.