Confuciusornis Skeleton Panel Replica

Description

Confuciusornis Skeleton Panel Replica measures 12.3″L x 8.5″W x 1.0″H. Confuciusornis Skeleton Panel is a museum-quality polyurethane resin cast of original specimen. Made in USA.

A Jurassic cretaceous bird skeleton. Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous China. Dinosaur-like features.

Confuciusornis or Confuciusornis sanctus is a genus of rudimentary crow-sized bird from the Early Cretaceous Period of the Yixian and Jiufotang Formations of China, dating from 125 to 120 million years ago.

Confuciusornis had a toothless beak. Confuciusornis is one of the most abundant vertebrates found in the Yixian Formation, and several hundred complete, articulated specimens have been found.

Confuciusornis total length of 1.6 feet and a wingspan of up to 2.3 ft. Its body weight has been estimated to have been as much as 3.3 lbs.

Confuciusornis shows a mix of basal and derived traits. It was more advanced or derived than Archaeopteryx in possessing a short tail with a pygostyle (a bone formed from a series of short, fused tail vertebrae) and a bony breastbone, but more basal or rudimentary than modern birds in retaining large claws on the forelimbs, having a primitive skull with a closed eye-socket, and a relatively small breastbone.

The skull morphology of Confuciusornis has been difficult to determine, due to the crushed and deformed nature of the fossils. The skull was near triangular in side view, and the toothless beak was robust and pointed.

The front of the jaws had deep neurovascular foramina and grooves. The Confuciusornis skull was rather robust, with deep jaws, especially the mandible.

Confuciusornis tomial crest of the upper jaw was straight for its entire length. The front bones of the upper jaw were fused together for most of the front half of the snout, but were separated at the tip by a V-shaped notch.

The frontal processes that projected hindwards from the premaxillae were thin and extended above the eye openings. The nasal bone was smaller than in most birds, and had a slender process that directed down towards the maxilla.

Scientific classification:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Clade: Dinosauria
• Clade: Saurischia
• Clade: Theropoda
• Family: †Confuciusornithidae
• Genus: †Confuciusornis
• Type species: †Confuciusornis sanctus Hou et al., 1995

Our Confuciusornis Skeleton Panel Replica is a educational art piece that pairs well with Aerosaurus Therapsida Skeleton Plaque.