RARE PRIMITIVE FOSSIL BIRD. ...

Description

RARE PRIMITIVE FOSSIL BIRD
Confuciusornis sanctus
Cretaceous, Aptian Stage
Yixian Formation, Sihetun Sites, Liaoning Province, China
Due to their delicate hollow bones, birds stand little chance of preservation in the fossil record; this specimen, however, is so fine that even the feather detail can easily be seen. Perfectly positioned, belly up and with its wings open, it is amongst the finest examples of its rare kind. The skull and primitive, edentulous beak are excellently preserved, and there is superb three-dimensionality to the limbs, right down to the curving raptor-like toe claws and the paired tail feathers that identify this specimen as a male. The first ancient bird to be discovered outside Germany, Confuciusornis sanctus retains many of the primitive dinosaurian features exhibited by the world famous Archaeopteryx specimens from Solnhofen, but has shed the bony tail vertebra in favor of a short, fused pygostyle bone, and is notable for its lack of teeth - the first recorded bird to exhibit these features. A tremendously important species, this 125 million-year-old bird is the earliest known beaked bird fossil and a fascinating link with the terrestrial dinosaurs. The fossil itself measures 10¼ inches long and is presented under Plexiglas in a mahogany frame, 18¾ x 13 5/8 inches overall.

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