Letters to Nature Nature 418, 405 - 409 (2002) A long-tailed,
seed-eating bird from the Early Cretaceous of China
ZHONGHE ZHOU AND FUCHENG ZHANG
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, China
Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to
Z.Z. (e-mail:
The lacustrine deposits of the Yixian and Jiufotang Formations in the
Early Cretaceous Jehol Group in the western Liaoning area of northeast
China are well known for preserving feathered dinosaurs, primitive birds
and mammals. Here we report a large basal bird, Jeholornis prima gen. et
sp. nov., from the Jiufotang Formation. This bird is distinctively
different from other known birds of the Early Cretaceous period in
retaining a long skeletal tail with unexpected elongated prezygopophyses
and chevrons, resembling that of dromaeosaurids, providing a further
link between birds and non-avian theropods. Despite its basal position
in early avian evolution, the advanced features of the pectoral girdle
and the carpal trochlea of the carpometacarpus of Jeholornis indicate
the capability of powerful flight. The dozens of beautifully preserved
ovules of unknown plant taxa in the stomach represents direct evidence
for seed-eating adaptation in birds of the Mesozoic era.
Andrew Taylor
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