Jiufotang Formation

The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...

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The Jiufotang Formation is an Early Cretaceous

Early Cretaceous

The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...

 geological formation in Chaoyang, Liaoning which has yielded fossils of feathered dinosaur

Dinosaur

{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Taxobox|name = Dinosaurs|fossil_range = {{Fossil range|230|65|earliest=230|latest=0|PS=
Descendant taxon Aves survives to present.}}|image = field_dinos_2.jpg...

s, primitive birds, pterosaur

Pterosaur

Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period...

s, and other organisms. (see Jehol Biota

Jehol Biota

The Jehol Biota includes all the living organisms - the ecosystem - of northeastern China between 133 to 120 million years ago. This is the Lower Cretaceous ecosystem which left fossils in the Yixian Formation and Jiufotang Formation. It is also believed to have left fossils in the Sinuiju series...

). It is a member of the Jehol group. The exact age of the Jiufotang has been debated for years, with estimates ranging from the Late Jurassic

Late Jurassic

The Late Jurassic epoch of the Jurassic Period is the unit of geologic time from 161.2 ± 4.0 to 145.5 ± 4.0 million years ago, which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata. In European lithostratigraphy, the name Malm indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age...

 to the Early Cretaceous

Early Cretaceous

The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...

. He et al. (2004) used argon - isotope radiometry to confirm biostratigraphic age estimates. They confirmed an Early Cretaceous

Early Cretaceous

The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...

, Aptian

Aptian

The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch or series and encompasses the time from 125.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 112.0 ± 1.0 Ma , approximately...

 age for the Jiufotang Formation, 120.3 +/-0.7 million years ago. Fossils of Microraptor

Microraptor

Microraptor is a genus of small, dromaeosaurid dinosaur. About two dozen well-preserved fossil specimens have been recovered from Liaoning, China...

and Jeholornis are from the Jiufotang.

Theropods

Genus	Species	County	Member	Abundance	Notes	Images
Aberratiodontus Aberratiodontus Aberratiodontus was a presumed enantiornithine bird which lived in the Early Cretaceous. The single species Aberratiodontus wui is sometimes considered a distinct order and family from other Euenantiornithes due to its peculiar teeth...	Aberratiodontus wui				An enantiornithine Enantiornithes Enantiornithes is an extinct group of primitive birds. They were the most abundant and diverse avialans of the Mesozoic. Almost all retained teeth and clawed hands, like other primitive birds. Enantiornithines are thought to have left no living descendants...
Boluochia Boluochia Boluochia zhengi was an enantiornithine bird. It lived during the Early Cretaceous in the time span 121.6-110.6 mya and is known from fossils found in the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning province, People's Republic of China. Boluochia was first described by Zhou in 1995...	Boluochia zhengi				An enantiornithine
Cathayornis Cathayornis Cathayornis is a genus of enantiornithine bird from the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning, People's Republic of China. It may be synonymous with the similar Sinornis....	Cathayornis aberransis				An entantiornithine
	Cathayornis caudatus
	Cathayornis yandica				An enantiornithine, probably synonymous with Sinornis
Chaoyangia Chaoyangia Chaoyangia is an extinct genus of bird from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning, China. Only one species is descript, Chaoyangia beishanensis....	Chaoyangia beishanensis				An ornithuran Ornithurae Ornithurae is the name of a natural group or infraclass of terrestrial and flightless birds endemic to what would be North America, Europe, and Asia during the Mesozoic living from 145.5—65.5 mya, existing for approximately ....
Confuciusornis Confuciusornis Confuciusornis is a genus of crow-sized, primitive, birds from the Early Cretaceous Yixian and Jiufotang Formations of China, dating from 125 to 12o million years ago...	Confuciusornis sanctus			Also present in the Yixian Formation Yixian Formation The Yixian Formation is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans 11 million years during the early Cretaceous period...	A primitive short-tailed bird (pygostylia Pygostylia Pygostylia is a group of birds which includes Confuciusornis and all of the more derived birds; the Ornithothoraces. Chiappe defined the Pygostylia as "the common ancestor of the Confuciusornithidae and Neornithes plus all its descendants". This is a node-based definition.Chiappe united the... n)
Cryptovolans Cryptovolans Cryptovolans is a genus of feathered, dromaeosaurid, dinosaur represented by a 90 cm long individual preserved in 3 fossils. Feduccia et al. treated "Cryptovolans" as a junior synonym for Microraptor. If this move was formally adopted, the name Cryptovolans would be abandoned. Its specific...	Cryptovolans pauli				A dromaeosaurid, probably synonymous with Microraptor
Cuspirostrisornis Cuspirostrisornis Cuspirostrisornis is a Genus of enantiornithine bird. Only one species is known, Cuspirostrisornis houi. It is known from one fossil found in the Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China. The Jiufotang Formation is dated to the Early Cretaceous period, Aptian age, 120.3...	Cuspirostrisornis houi				An enantirontihine
Dalianraptor Dalianraptor Dalianraptor is a genus of prehistoric bird that lived in China about 125 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous. It is very similar to the other early avialian Shenzhouraptor , though it has a longer digit I and shorter forelimbs which suggests it may have been flightless...	Dalianraptor cuhe				A long-tailed, basal Basal (phylogenetics) In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...  avialan Avialae Avialae is a clade containing birds and their most immediate dinosaurian relatives.-Competing definitions:Systematic studies of the Avialae have produced different results depending on the specimens included and the definitions used. Including or excluding Archaeopteryx from the group Aves has a...
Dapingfangornis Dapingfangornis Dapingfangornis was an enantiornithine bird. It lived during the Early Cretaceous and is known from fossils—including a complete skeleton—found in the Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China. Small to medium-sized, it had a sternum with both long and short lateral...	Dapingfangornis sentisorhinus				An enantiornithine
Didactylornis	Didactylornis jii				An omnivoropterygiform, a primitive short-tailed bird
Eocathayornis Eocathayornis Eocathayornis was an enantiornithine bird that was probably more primitive than its relative Sinornis . It lived during the Early Cretaceous in today's People's Republic of China....	Eocathayornis walkeri				An enantirontihine
Jixiangornis Jixiangornis Jixiangornis is the name given to a genus of basal bird from the Early Cretaceous. Like later birds, it had developed a beak, but it had a long tail, unlike modern birds. Since teeth were still present in some more advanced short-tailed birds, Jixiangornis seems to have evolved its beak...	Jixiangornis orientalis				A long-tailed bird similar to Jeholornis
Largirostrornis Largirostrornis Largirostrornis is a Genus of enantiornithine bird. One species is known, Largirostornis sexdentoris. It lived during the Early Cretaceous and is known from fossils found in the Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China....	Largirostrornis sexdentoris				An enantirontihine
Longchengornis Longchengornis Longchengornis was an enantiornithine bird. It lived during the Early Cretaceous about 120 mya and is known from fossils found in the Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China....	Longchengornis sanyanensis				An enantirontihine
Longipteryx Longipteryx Longipteryx is a genus of prehistoric bird which lived during the Early Cretaceous . It contains a single species, Longipteryx chaoyangensis. Its remains have been recovered from the Jiufotang Formation at Chaoyang in Liaoning Province, People's Republic of China...	Longipteryx chaoyangensis				A possible enantiornithine
Microraptor Microraptor Microraptor is a genus of small, dromaeosaurid dinosaur. About two dozen well-preserved fossil specimens have been recovered from Liaoning, China...	Microraptor gui		Shangheshou Bed	Extremely common	A dromaeosaurid
	Microraptor zhaoianus		Shangheshou Bed
Omnivoropteryx Omnivoropteryx Omnivoropteryx is a genus of primitive flying bird from the early Cretaceous Upper Jiufotang Formation of China. The authors that described Omnivoropteryx, Stephen Czerkas and Qiang Ji, stated that their specimen closely resembles Sapeornis, but the pubis was longer and, since no skull was known...	Omnivoropteryx sinousaorum				An omnivoropterygiform
Rapaxavis	Rapaxavis pani				An enantiornithine
Sapeornis Sapeornis Sapeornisis a genus of primitive bird which lived during the Early Cretaceous . The genus contains only the species Sapeornis chaoyangensis which is known from fossils found in Jiufotang Formation rocks near Chaoyang, PRC...	Sapeornis angustis				An omnivoropterygiform
	Sapeornis chaoyangensis
Similicaudipteryx Similicaudipteryx Similicaudipteryx is a genus of theropod dinosaur of the family Caudipteridae. Its fossil remains were recovered from the Jiufotang Formation of northeastern China, dating to the early Cretaceous Period about 120 million years ago. The genus contains one described species, Similicaudipteryx...	Similicaudipteryx yixianensis				An oviraptorosaur
Sinornis	Sinornis santensis				An enantiornithine
Sinotyrannus Sinotyrannus Sinotyrannus is a genus of large tyrannosauroid dinosaur, a possible close relative of the true tyrannosaurids which flourished in North America and Asia during the late Cretaceous period. Sinotyrannus is known from a single incomplete fossil specimen including a partial skull, from the Early...	Sinotyrannus kazuoensis				A tyrannosauroid Tyrannosauroidea Tyrannosauroidea is a superfamily of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that includes the family Tyrannosauridae as well as more basal relatives. Tyrannosauroids lived on the Laurasian supercontinent beginning in the Jurassic Period...
Shenzhouraptor Shenzhouraptor Jeholornis is a genus of Mesozoic bird that lived approximately 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous of China. Fossils of Jeholornis were discovered in the Jiufotang Formation in Hebei, China.... / Jeholornis	Shenzhouraptor orientalis / Jeholornis prima				A basal avialan
Songlingornis Songlingornis Songlingornis is a prehistoric bird genus from the Early Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning . The age of these rocks is somewhat disputed, but probably around the early Aptian, 125-120 million years ago...	Songlingornis linghensis				An ornithuran.
Yanornis Yanornis Yanornis is an extinct genus of Early Cretaceous bird, thought to be closely related to the common ancestor of all modern birds. One species, Yanornis martini,...	Yanornis martini				An ornithuran.
Yixianornis Yixianornis Yixianornis is a bird genus from the Early Cretaceous. Its remains have been found in the Jiufotang Formation at Chaoyang which is probably of early Aptian age, around 125-120 million years ago. Only one species, Yixianornis grabaui, is known at present...	Yixianornis grabaui				An ornithuran.
Zhongjianornis Zhongjianornis Zhongjianornis is an extinct, long - beaked, pigeon - sized bird from Early Cretaceous China. It is known from one fossil found at Jianchang, Liaoning, in rocks of the Jiufotang Formation...	Zhongjianornis yangi				A basal avialan

Choristoderans

Choristodera Choristodera Choristodera is an order of semi-aquatic diapsid reptiles which ranged from the Middle Jurassic, or possibly Late Triassic, to at least the early Miocene. Choristoderes have been found in North America, Asia, and Europe. The most common fossils are typically found from the Late Cretaceous to the... ns of the Jiufotang Formation
Taxa	Presence	Description	Images
Genus: Philydrosaurus Philydrosaurus proseilus		Monjurosuchid
Genus: Ikechosaurus Ikechosaurus pijiagouensis		Simoedosaurid

Fish

Fish Fish A fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...  of the Yixian Formation
Taxa	Presence	Description	Images
Genus: Jinanichthys Jinanichthys longicephalus		An osteoglossiform Osteoglossiformes Osteoglossiformes is a relatively primitive order of ray-finned fish that contains two sub-orders, the Osteoglossoidei and the Notopteroidei. All of the living species inhabit freshwater... .
Genus: Lycoptera Lycoptera Lycoptera, Lycoptera davidi, was a fish that lived in the Late Jurassic 157 - 136 Ma mainly around present day China.-References:*... . Lycoptera davidi		An osteoglossiform.
Genus: Peipiaosteus Peipiaosteus is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish.... Peipiaosteus pani		A fish related to Sturgeon Sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common... s.
Genus: Protosephurus Protosephurus liui		A Paddlefish Paddlefish Paddlefish are primitive Chondrostean ray-finned fishes. The paddlefish can be distinguished by its large mouth and its elongated snout called a rostrum . These spatula-like snouts comprise half the length of their entire body. There are only two extant species of these fish: the Chinese and the... .
Genus: Sinamia Sinamia zdanskyi		A Bowfin Bowfin Bowfins are an order of primitive ray-finned fish. Only one species, the bowfin Amia calva, family Amiidae, survives today, although additional species in six families are known from Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene fossils... .

Ornithischians

Ornithischia Ornithischia Ornithischia or Predentata is an extinct order of beaked, herbivorous dinosaurs. The name ornithischia is derived from the Greek ornitheos meaning 'of a bird' and ischion meaning 'hip joint'... n dinosaur Dinosaur {{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Taxobox|name = Dinosaurs|fossil_range = {{Fossil range|230|65|earliest=230|latest=0|PS= Descendant taxon Aves survives to present.}}|image = field_dinos_2.jpg... s of the Yixian Formation
Taxa	Presence	Description	Images
Genus: Psittacosaurus Psittacosaurus Psittacosaurus is a genus of psittacosaurid ceratopsian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Period of what is now Asia, about 130 to 100 million years ago. It is notable for being the most species-rich dinosaur genus... Psittacosaurus meileyingensis Psittacosaurus mongoliensis	From the Shangheshou Beds, extremely common. (Placeholder).	A ceratopsia Ceratopsia Ceratopsia or Ceratopia is a group of herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs which thrived in what are now North America and Asia, during the Cretaceous Period, although ancestral forms lived earlier, in the Jurassic. Early members such as Psittacosaurus were small and bipedal... n.

Pterosaurs

Pterosaur Pterosaur Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period... s of the Jiufotang Formation
Taxa	Presence	Description	Images
Genus: Chaoyangopterus Chaoyangopterus Chaoyangopterus is a genus of azhdarchoid pterodactyloid pterosaur known from a partial skeleton found in Liaoning, China. It was found in rocks of the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Dapingfang, Chaoyang.... Chaoyangopterus zhangi		A chaoyangopterid.
Genus: Eoazhdarcho Eoazhdarcho Eoazhdarcho is a genus of azhdarchoid pterodactyloid pterosaur named in 2005 by Chinese paleontologists Lü Junchang and Ji Qiang. The type species is Eoazhdarcho liaoxiensis. The genus name combines a Greek eos, "dawn" with the name of the genus Azhdarcho, with the implication it was an early... Eoazhdarcho liaoxiensis		A chaoyangopterid.
Genus: Eopteranodon Eopteranodon Eopteranodon is a genus of azhdarchoid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Beipaio City, Liaoning, China.... Eopteranodon lii		A chaoyangopterid.
Genus: Huaxiapterus Huaxiapterus Huaxiapterus was a genus of tapejarid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China.... Huaxiapterus benxiensis Huaxiapterus corollatus Huaxiapterus jii		A tapejarid Tapejaridae Tapejaridae are a family of pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the early Cretaceous period. Members are currently known from Brazil and China, where the most primitive genera are found, indicating that the family has an Asian origin.... .
Genus: Jidapterus Jidapterus Jidapterus was a genus of azhdarchoid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China.... Jidapterus edentus		A chaoyangopterid.
Genus: Liaoningopterus Liaoningopterus Liaoningopterus, sometimes misspelled "Liaoningopteryx", was a genus of ornithocheirid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China.... Liaoningopterus gui		An ornithocheirid.
Genus: Liaoxipterus Liaoxipterus Liaoxipterus is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China.... Liaoxipterus brachyognathus		An istiodactylid Istiodactylidae Istiodactylidae is a small family of pterosaurs. This family was named in 2001 after the type genus Istiodactylus was discovered not to be a member of the genus Ornithodesmus.... .
Genus: Nemicolopterus Nemicolopterus Nemicolopterus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur, described in 2008. The type and only known species is N. crypticus. It lived in the Jehol Biota 120 million years ago. Its wingspan of slightly under 25 centimeters makes it smaller than any but a few specimens of hatchling... Nemicolopterus crypticus		A dsungaripteroid Dsungaripteroidea Dsungaripteroidea is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea.-Classification:Listing of families and genera after Unwin 2006 unless otherwise noted.* Superfamily Dsungaripteroidea** Herbstosaurus** Kepodactylus... .
Genus: Nurhachius Nurhachius Nurhachius was a genus of istiodactylid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China.... Nurhachius ignaciobritoi		An istiodactylid.
Genus: Sinopterus Sinopterus Sinopterus was a genus of tapejarid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China. Two species have been named... Sinopterus dongi Sinopterus gui		A tapejarid.

Sauropods

Sauropod dinosaur Dinosaur {{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Taxobox|name = Dinosaurs|fossil_range = {{Fossil range|230|65|earliest=230|latest=0|PS= Descendant taxon Aves survives to present.}}|image = field_dinos_2.jpg... s of the Yixian Formation
Taxa	Presence	Description	Images
Unranked: Titanosauria Titanosaur sp.		An unnamed species of titanosaur.