Confuciusornis Skeleton Panel Replica

Description

Confuciusornis Skeleton Panel Replica (Confuciusornis sanctus) Information

Confuciusornis skeleton panel replica measures 12.3 x 8.5 x 1.0 inches. Confuciusornis sanctus panel is a museum-quality polyurethane resin cast of original specimen. 1:1. Made in USA.

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

Confuciusornis 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.

The 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).

The bony breastbone, was more basal or rudimentary than modern birds in retaining large claws on the forelimbs, having a early 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  skull was rather robust, with deep jaws, especially the mandible.

The 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

The confuciusornis is a early, crow-sized bird from the Early Cretaceous whose osteology shows a mix of dinosaur-like traits and advanced features like a toothless beak. Biologists study these 1:1 scale casts to analyze the transition from feathered dinosaurs to modern birds. Expand your prehistoric research collection with the archaeopteryx skull, archaeopteryx plaque, and Jurassic cretaceous bird skeleton plauqe. Find more high-fidelity specimens available in our prehistoric plaques replica store.