Species †S. linghensis Phylum Chordata | Scientific name Songlingornis linghensis Rank Genus | |
Similar Archaeorhynchus, Boluochia, Yanornis, Jianchangornis, Hongshanornis | ||
Songlingornis is a prehistoric bird genus from the Early Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning (PRC). The age of these rocks is somewhat disputed, but probably around the early Aptian, 125-120 million years ago. Only one species, Songlingornis linghensis, is known at present.
It was a close relative of Yanornis and together with this and Yixianornis forms a clade of early modern birds. It is sometimes considered to be the same genus as Yanornis (which, described after Songlingornis, would then be merged into that taxon), but this is not universally accepted.
References
Songlingornis Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA