Summary
Qiliania (from the Xiongnu qilian, "heaven") is an extinct genus of early bird from the lower Cretaceous (Aptian stage) about 120 million years ago.[1] It is an enantiornithean which lived in what is now Gansu Province, north-western China. It is known from two incomplete, semi-articulated and three-dimensionally preserved skeletons, which were found in the Xiagou Formation of the Changma Basin. It was first named by Shu-An Ji, Jessie Atterholt, Jingmai O'Connor, Matthew Lamanna, Jerry Harrs, Li Da-Qing, You Hai-Lu and Peter Dodson in 2011 and the type species is Qiliania graffini.[1] The species was named for Greg Graffin, a paleontologist and member of the punk rock group Bad Religion, at the suggestion of coauthor Jingmai O'Connor, a longtime fan of the band.[2]
| Qiliania Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Avialae |
| Clade: | †Enantiornithes |
| Genus: | †Qiliania Ji et al., 2011 |
| Species: | †Q. graffini
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| Binomial name | |
| †Qiliania graffini Ji et al., 2011
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References edit
- ^ a b Ji, Shu-An; Atterholt, Jessie; O'Connor, Jingmai; Lamanna, Matthew; Harris, Jerry; Li, Da-Qing; You, Hai-Lu; Dodson, Peter (2011). "A new, three-dimensionally preserved enantiornithine bird (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from Gansu Province, north-western China". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 162 (1): 201–219. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2010.00671.x.
- ^ O'Connor, J.K. (6 January 2011). "Bad Religion, Good Paleontology". Dave Hone's Archosaur Musings weblog. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
