Huaxiasaurus and new Chinese bird

[bh480@scn.org]

From: Ben Creisler bh480@scn.org
Huaxiasaurus and new Chinese bird

Can't recall if the following wireservice story for July 
23 was mentioned here. It describes a new (unnamed) bird 
from China. It also mentions a mystery bird (?dinosaur) 
called Huaxiasaurus, mentioned in a May 1, 2000 Hong Kong 
story posted here. Anybody have additional info on these 
critters?

New Discovery to Help Solve Riddle of Bird Origin 

Shenyang, July 23 

Chinese paleontologists expect to make significant 
breakthroughs in research of bird origins with the 
discovery of fossils of a new species of primitive bird 
that lived 125 million years ago. 

The new find in Chaoyang of northeast China's Liaoning 
province provides more clues for study into the bird's 
ancestry and finally might help solve the riddle of bird 
origins, said scholars from the Chinese Academy of 
Science. 

Before fossilized ancient birds were unearthed in 
Chaoyang , the archaeopteryx, a primitive bird whose 
fossils were discovered in Germany, was long held to be 
the earliest bird in the world. 

Prior to the recent discovery, fossils of 10 species of 
ancient birds including Huaxiasaurus and Confuciusornis 
have been found in great quantity in the area, with the 
earliest dating back to over 145 million years ago. 

The newly-discovered fossils showed that the waterfowl-
like primitive bird had strong forelimbs and compact 
teeth, and was well-adapted to flying. 

Fossilized fish of five species and a large number of 
fossilized plants were also found with the bird fossils.