Schizoouridae

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Schizoourids
Temporal range: Aptian, ~120–113 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Clade: Avialae
Clade: Euornithes
Family: Schizoouridae
Wang et al., 2019
Genera

Schizoouridae is an extinct family of euornithean theropods that lived in what is now China during the Early Cretaceous. It was named in 2019 by Wang and colleagues, and contains all taxa more closely related to Mengciusornis dentatus and Schizooura lii than to Bellulornis or Jianchangornis microdonta. Members of the family possessed several features that are rarely found in euornitheans, but are more typical of enantiornitheans and more basal groups. These include a robust furcula with a prominent hypocleidium, and (in Mengciusornis) teeth at the tip of the premaxilla.[1][2]

Classification[edit]

The cladogram below follows Wang et al. (2019):[2]

Ornithuromorpha

References[edit]

  1. ^ Brocklehurst, N.; Field, D. J. (2021). "Macroevolutionary dynamics of dentition in Mesozoic birds reveal no long-term selection towards tooth loss". iScience. 24 (3): 102243. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.102243. PMC 7973866.
  2. ^ a b Wang, M.; O’Connor, J. K.; Zhou, S.; Zhou, Z. (2019). "New toothed Early Cretaceous ornithuromorph bird reveals intraclade diversity in pattern of tooth loss". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (8): 631–645. doi:10.1080/14772019.2019.1682696.