Avebrevicaudans Temporal range: Early Cretaceous–Recent, 131–0 Ma | |
---|---|
File:Sapeornis chaoyangensis.JPG | |
Fossil specimen of Sapeornis chaoyangensis, Hong Kong Science Museum | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Euavialae |
Clade: | Avebrevicauda Paul, 2002 |
Subgroups | |
Avebrevicauda (meaning "birds with short tails") is a group of stem-birds which includes all avialan species with ten or fewer free vertebrae in the tail. The group was named in 2002 by Gregory S. Paul to distinguish short-tailed birds from their ancestors, such as Archaeopteryx, which had long, reptilian tails.[1]
References
- ^ Paul, G.S. (2002). Dinosaurs of the Air. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 460 pp.
| This article is part of Project Bird Taxonomy, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every order, family and other taxonomic rank related to birds. |
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA
unless otherwise noted.