Changzuiornis

Changzuiornis; Temporal range: 122.1 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	Theropoda
Clade:	Avialae
Clade:	Ornithurae
Genus:	†Changzuiornis; Huang et al., 2016
Type species
	†Changzuiornis ahgmi; Huang et al., 2016

Changzuiornis is an extinct genus of ornithuromorph bird from the Early Cretaceous of present-day China. It contains a single species, C. ahgmi.^[1]

Discovery and naming[]

At near Lingyuan in Liaoning, a bird skeleton was excavated which was acquired by the Anhui Gushengwu Bowugan, the paleontological museum of Anhui. In 2016 the type species Changzuiornis ahgmi was named and described by Huang Jiandong, Wang Xia, Hu Yuanchao, Liu Jia, Jennifer A. Peteya and Julia A. Clarke. The generic name combines the Chinese chángzuì, "the longest", a reference to the long beak, with a Greek ὄρνις, ornis, "bird". The specific name is the Latin genitive of the acronym AHGM, the Anhui Geological Museum.^[1]

The holotype, AGB5840, was found in a layer of the Jiufotang Formation dating from the Aptian. It consists of an almost complete and associated skeleton with skull, compressed on a plate. It preserves feather remains and gastroliths. It represents an adult individual.^[1]

Description[]

Changzuiornis has a long beak which reaches 68% of the total skull length.^[1]

Classification[]

Changzuiornis was placed in the Ornithurae. The describers suggested that Changzuiornis might be cogeneric to the closely related Juehuaornis found in the same formation, in which case the latter genus would have priority.^[1]