The first species to be included, Ambiortus dementjevi, lived sometime during the Barremian age between 136.4 and 125 million years ago[1] in today's Mongolia. A. dementjevi belongs to the Ornithuromorpha (the group containing modern birds but not enantiornithes), according to all published cladistic analyses. However, the exact position of the species within this group has been controversial. Most analyses have found it to be either an unresolved member of the Ornithurae, or a more primitive member of Ornithuromorpha. One 2006 study, for example, found it to be more primitive than Yanornis but more advanced than Hongshanornis, or even a member of the specific group containing both Yanornis and Yixianornis.[2]
The group includes at least Ambiortus and possibly the supposed close relative Apsaravis.[3] The results of a cladistic analysis published in 2011 indicate that Apsaravis and Palintropus are very closely related.[4]
References
^Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2012). Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,Winter 2011 Appendix (PDF).
^You, Lamanna, Harris, Chiappe, O'Connor, Ji, Lu, Yuan, Li, Zhang, Lacovara, Dodson and Ji, (2006). "A nearly modern amphibious bird from the Early Cretaceous of Northwestern China". Science, 312: 1640-1643.
^O’Connor, J. K.; Zhang, Y.; Chiappe, L. M.; Meng, Q.; Quanguo, L.; Di, L. (2013). "A new enantiornithine from the Yixian Formation with the first recognized avian enamel specialization". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33: 1–12. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.719176. S2CID85261944.
^Longrich, N.R., Tokaryk, T., and Field, D.J. (2011). "Mass extinction of birds at the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(37): 15253-15257. doi:10.1073/pnas.1110395108.
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