Species profile
Jeholornis prima
Jeholornis prima
Quick answer
Based on the morphological study of this specimen, we provide the following revised diagnosis for J. prima. A large stem bird with the following combination of features: premaxilla edentulous with short maxillary process; two teeth with blunt crowns in maxilla and three relatively smaller teeth in dentary (new); paired, sheet-like preorbital ossifications present near the nasals (new, autapomorphy); C-shaped lacrimal with short rostrodorsal ramus and lacrimal foramen (new); unreduced postorbital forming a complete postorbital bar with jugal (new); pterygoid rami of vomer much longer than the fused rostral portion, expanded in the middle and lacking the caudodorsal process (new); palatine with broad pterygoid wing and jugal process (new); narrow and restricted mandibular fenestra between prearticular and surangular (new); 27 caudal vertebrae in total, with the transition point occurring after the fifth vertebra; lateral trabecula of sternum absent; caudalmost pair of sternal ribs expanded; first phalanx of the third manual digit twice as long as the second phalanx; ratio of forelimb (humerus plus ulna plus carpometacarpus) to hindlimb (femur plus tibiotarsus plus tarsometatarsus) of ~ 1.2: 1; dorsal margin of the ilium nearly straight and craniodorsal – caudoventrally oriented (modified from Zhou & Zhang, 2002; O’Connor et al., 2012; Zheng et al., 2020).
- Scientific name
- Jeholornis prima
- Family
- Jeholornithidae
- Genus
- Jeholornis
Recording Jeholornis prima in your journal
When you see this bird, log the sighting with the date, the place and any photos. If it's your first, Feather Journal marks it as a lifer and adds it to your life list automatically — no spreadsheet, no re-typing.