Pengornis fossil map
Where fossils of Pengornis have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 115 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 115 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Theropods |
|---|---|
| Lived | 121.4–113.2 million years ago (Aptian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Pengornithidae |
| Named by | Zhou et al. 2008 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | China |
| Rock formations | Jiufotang |
About Pengornis
Pengornis is the largest known enantiornithean bird from the Early Cretaceous of northeast China. The name derives from "Peng", which refers to a mythological bird from Chinese folklore, and "-ornis", which means bird in Greek.
Pengornis was originally known from a single adult fossil, described by Zhou et al. in 2008. This holotype is in the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing China. Its accession number is IVPP V15336. It was collected from the Jiufotang Formation, at Dapingfang, Chaoyang, Liaoning China. A second, juvenile specimen, IVPP V18632, was described by Hu, Zhou, and O'Connor in 2014. In 2015 this was referred to Parapengornis.
Pengornis shows characters of the humeral head, acromion, and anterior cervical vertebrae, that were previously known only in members of the Ornithurae. A phylogenetic analysis by Zhou et al. reduces to just three the number of characters that support enantiornithean monophyly. Thus, Pengornis supports the possibility that Enantiornithes and Ornithurae may not be distinct clades.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Pengornis (revision 1380751749), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q14947755.
