| Shanweiniao Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 122 Ma |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Subclass: | †Enantiornithes |
| Superorder: | †Euenantiornithes |
| Order: | †Longipterygiformes |
| Family: | †Longipterygidae |
| Genus: | †Shanweiniao |
| Species: | †S. cooperorum O'Connor et al., 2010 |
Shanweiniao is an extinct genus of long-beaked enantiornithine bird from Early Cretaceous China. One species is known, Shanweiniao cooperorum. There is one known fossil, a slab and counterslab. The fossil is in the collection of the Dalian Natural History Museum, and has accession number DNHM D1878/1 and DNHM1878/2. It was collected from the Lower Cretaceous Dawangzhngzi Bed, middle Yixian Formation, from Lingyuan in the Liaoning Province, China.
O'Connor et al. (2010) found that Shanweiniao is a close relative of Longipteryx, Longirostravis, and Rapaxavis,[1] which together form a clade of long-beaked enantiornithine birds.
The genus name Shanweiniao means "fan-tailed bird" in Chinese. The authors report that Shanweiniao is the only known enantiornithine bird with a tail surface capable of generating lift, as in modern birds. They also report that only one other Mesozoic bird, Yixianornis grabaui, which is a basal ornithurine, has been reported with this fan - shaped tail feather morphology.
The species name, cooperorum, is after Carl and Lynn Cooper who donated funds to support the study of Mesozoic birds in China.[2]