Jeholornis - Classification and Specimens

Classification and Specimens

Jeholornis contains at least two species: the type species, Jeholornis prima (named in reference to the Jehol group of fossil beds where it was found, and the primitive appearance of the tail) and one referred species, Jeholornis palmapenis described by Jingmai O'Connor and colleagues in 2012. The name J. palmapenis translates to "palm tail" in reference to the unusual arrangement of its tail feathers.

Zhou and Zhang classified Jeholornis in a new family, Jeholornithidae, of which it is the type genus, and the order Jeholornithiformes. No phylogenetic definitions for these groups were provided.

A total of five specimens have been formally described. The type specimen is in the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing. It is catalogued as IVPP V13274, and was reported in the journal Nature in 2002. Two more specimens were later accessioned by the IVPP as V 13550 and V 13553 and they were reported in the journal Naturwissenschaften in 2003. Another specimen is in the collection of the Liaoning Provincial Museum of Paleontology, and is catalogued as LPM 0193 it was reported as a new species, Shenzhouraptor sinensis, in the journal The Geological Bulletin of China in 2002, but is likely a junior synonym of Jeholornis. An additional specimen, named as the new species Jixiangornis orientalis in the Journal of Nanjing University (Natural Sciences) (also in 2002) is also considered by most scientists to be a synonym of Jeholornis prima.