| Parvavis Temporal range:Late Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Life reconstruction ofParvavis chuxiongensis | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Avialae |
| Clade: | †Enantiornithes |
| Genus: | †Parvavis Wanget al., 2014 |
| Species: | †P. chuxiongensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Parvavis chuxiongensis Wanget al., 2014 | |
Parvavis is a genus ofenantiornithinebird, known from the upper Cretaceous of China in theJiangdihe Formation. The type and only species,Parvavis chuxiongensis, was recovered in Luojumei Village, Chuxiong City, Yunnan Province, southern China, and it was the only known Mesozoic bird from south China at the time of its discovery. Based on its bone structure, the holotype was determined to be nearly fully grown at its time of death and would have been smaller thanIberomesornis, the smallest known enantiornithine prior to the description ofParvavis.[1]
In 2010, the skeleton of a small bird was found nearLuojumei, a village close to the city ofChuxiong in theYunnan province ofChina, and in 2014 the type speciesParvavis chuxiongensis was named and described byWang Min,Zhou Zhonghe andXu Guanghui. Thegenus name is derived from theLatin prefix “parv”, which means small, and “avis” which means bird. Thespecies name refers to the location where the fossil was found, near the city of Chuxiong. Parvavis is the first bird known from theUpper-Cretaceous of China and the firstmesozoic bird from Southern China.[1]
The fossil,holotypeIVPP V18586/1, was found in lake deposits of theJiangdihe formation. It consists of a partially complete and articulated skeleton with parts of the skull and impressions of feathers on some of the rock. Of the spine, only the tail and pygostyle were preserved, and of the skull only the back. Furthermore,histological research suggests the animal was close to adult size when it died, but that it was unusually small in size for anEnantiornithine. This highlights the highly variable body sizes in this group of animals.[1]
Parvavis is, like the genus name suggests, a small bird with awingspan of about 15 centimeters. Other than the wingspan, the descriptors of the animal managed to identify a couple of differentiating characteristics, like the fact that the bottom joint of the secondmetatarsal is wider than those of the other metatarsals. The other two characteristics they identified are that the bottoms of the second and fourth metatarsals don't reach the hinge surfaces of the third metatarsal, and the fact that theclaw on the fourth toe is reduced.[1]
The latter two characteristics aren't unique on their own, but they are unique in combination with the first one.
Cladistic analyses put Parvavis in a relativelybasal position within the Enantiornithes, outsideLongipterygidae. This indicates that these basal forms existed for much longer than previously suspected.[1]
