Jixiangornis [SEP] parent taxon
was found in the Yixian Formation near Beipiao City, western Liaoning, China.
Classification.
The only known species, "J. orientalis" ("Oriental bird from the Yixian Formation"), was described in November 2002. Ji "et al." (2002) considered "Jixiangornis" capable of stronger flight than either "Archaeopteryx" or "Jeholornis". Their phylogenetic tree shows "Jixiangornis" forming a clade (called "Euavialae" by Ji "et al.") with birds that excludes "
Jixiangornis
Jixiangornis is a genus of primitive euavialans from the Early Cretaceous. Like later avialans, it had no teeth, but it also had a long tail, unlike modern birds. Since teeth were still present in some more advanced short-tailed avialans, "Jixiangornis" seems to have evolved its toothlessness independently of modern birds. The long forelimb (131% of hindlimb length) indicates at least some aerial ability. "Jixiangornis" is currently known only from a single specimen, a complete but juvenile skeleton. The fossil