Wyleyia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

iWyleyia
Fossil range: Early Cretaceous
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Genus: Wyleyia
Harrison & Walker, 1973
Species: Wyleyia valdensis
Binomial name
Wyleyia valdensis
Harrison & Walker, 1973

Wyleyia is a prehistoric genus with a single species, W. valdensis, known from the Early Cretaceous of England. It has been named to honor J. F. Wyley, who found the imperfect humerus of the specimen in the Weald Clay deposits of Henfield, Sussex, England. Initially believed by some to be from a coelurosaur, it is now generally accepted as an early bird, although its exact allocation is unresolved. It may be enantiornithine or an early neornithine palaeognathe.

[edit] References

  • Harrison, C.J.O. & Walker, C.A. (1973): Wyleyia: a new bird humerus from the Lower Cretaceous of England. Palaeontology 16(4): 721-728. PDF fulltext