Skip to main content

Jeholornis

Jeholornis
Today's animal has been in the news lately, due to a recent discovery relating to its fossils. But mor eon that in a bit. Jeholornis is one of the most ancient birds that we known off-- it lived more than 120 million years ago. Its fossils have been found in China, and were only discovered for the first time back in 2006. (Fun fact: the area where this bird was found is also home to the fossils of many of feathered creatures, including feathered Dinosaurs!)

Jeholornis does not seem to be a direct ancestor of mordern birds-- they come from different lines. However, because of how old this bird is, it can tell us a lot about the early members of the Aves class, and about the evolution of wings and feathers.

Recently, fossils have popped up that suggest Jeholornis had two tails. It was always known that they had a long train of feather, but now there are fossils that show a second tail-- a set of plumage that sticks up from the bird's back.

Scientists can only speculate what the second set of plumes was used for, but use in mating rituals is a good guess. The newly-found tail would jut out similar to the displays done by Peacocks. So far this is the only known bird to have this feather feature!

Status : Extinct 120 Million Years
Location : China
Size : Total Length up to 2.5ft (80cm)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : †Jeholornithiformes
Family : †Jeholornithidae -- Genus : †Jeholornis
Image : Aijuan Shi

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!

Halloween Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus The Halloween Crab goes by many names, including the Red Land Crab, Whitespot Crab, and Moon Crab. I personally like Halloween Crab though, since it really reflects the interesting colors. They have black carapaces, orange-red legs, and purple claws! Halloween Crabs live in the Pacific coast mangroves and forests of Central and South America. They actually live in the forests as adults, and return to the ocean in order to reproduce. Did you know that they live as far away as 18 miles (30km)  from water? Not where you normally think Crabs to be! While living in the forest, the Crabs forage nocturnally for different plant matter, including leaves and sapling. They also dig long burrows into the ground for protection. These burrows can measure nearly 5 ft long! Halloween Crabs are sometimes kept in captivity, and can be very tricky pets due to their excellent climbing skills. IUCN Status :  Not Listed Location :   Cent