Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

It was the second species of Confuciusornithidae to be found in a quarry near Jiangshangao Village, Liaoning. It is about the same size as Confuciusornis, but has a shorter beak that is more strongly curved, and in the shape of the wishbone and the proportions of the wrist bones. It had 2 long tail feathers that may have been as long as the body. The structure of its feet suggest it may have had a stronger grasp than Confuciusornis. The tail feathers have led to the suggestion that it may have carried out courting displays similar to those of birds of paradise in New Guinea.

Sources & Further reading

• Feathered Dinosaurs: the Origin of Birds, John Long and Peter Schuten, CSIRO Publishing

Links

Dinodata