List of Fossil Birds - Basal Pygostylia (extinct)

Basal Pygostylia (extinct)

The earliest birds with a modern pygostyle: a reduction and fusion of the tail vertebrae; possibly a paraphyletic group. Two types of pygostyle are known, a rod-shaped one found in Confuciusornithidae, Enantiornithes and some non-avian theropods such as Nomingia, and a plowshare-shaped one, only known in the lineage leading to modern birds. It is not certain that the pygostyles found in birds are indeed synapomorphies.

• Placement unresolved
  • Abavornis (Late Cretaceous) – (eu)enantiornithine?
  • Catenoleimus (Late Cretaceous) – enantiornithine?
  • Explorornis (Late Cretaceous) – (eu)enantiornithine?
  • Incolornis (Late Cretaceous) – (eu)enantiornithine?

• Omnivoropterygiformes
  • Omnivoropterygidae
    • Omnivoropteryx (Early Cretaceous)
    • Sapeornis (Early Cretaceous)
    • Shenshiornis (Early Cretaceous)

• Confuciusornithidae
  • Changchengornis (Early Cretaceous)
  • Confuciusornis (Early Cretaceous)
  • Eoconfuciusornis (Dabeigou Early Cretaceous of Fengning, China)
  • Jinzhouornis (Early Cretaceous) – may be synonym of Confuciusornis
  • "Proornis" (Early Cretaceous) – tentatively placed here; a nomen nudum