Aurornis
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Aurornis Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 160 Ma |
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| Life restoration | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Avialae |
| Genus: |
†Aurornis Godefroit et al., 2013 |
| Type species | |
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†Aurornis xui Godefroit et al., 2013 |
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Aurornis is an extinct genus of theropod dinosaurs from the Jurassic period of China. The genus Aurornis contains a single known species, Aurornis xui /aʊˈrɔːrnɪs ˈʃuː.iː/.Aurornis xui may be the most basal ("primitive") avialan dinosaur known to date, and it is one of the earliest avialans found to date. The fossil evidence for the animal pre-dates that of the Archaeopteryx lithographica, often considered the earliest bird species, by about 10 million years.
Aurornis xui was first described and named by Pascal Godefroit, Andrea Cau, Hu Dong-Yu, François Escuillié, Wu Wenhao and Gareth Dyke in 2013. The generic name is derived from the Latin word aurora, meaning "daybreak" or "dawn", and the Ancient Greek ὄρνις (órnis) meaning "bird". The specific name, A. xui, honors Xu Xing.
Aurornis was roughly the size of a modern pheasant, with a length of 50 cm (20 in). It had clawed wings and a long bony tail. Its leg bones were similar to those of Archaeopteryx, but overall its anatomy was more primitive.Aurornis lived roughly 160 million years ago, roughly 10 million years prior to Archaeopteryx, which often has been described as the first bird.
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