Confuciusornis sanctus, fossil bird from China Gallimimus flat plates to small

flat plates to small

Eretmocrinus granuliferus

one of the rarest of Cretaceous dinosaurs

Baryonyx is one of the few known piscivorous (fish-eating) dinosaurs

Confuciusornis sanctus, fossil bird from China Gallimimus flat plates to smallConfuciusornis sanctus ("the sacred bird of Confucius") is the earliest known beaked bird. Discovered in 1994, Confuciusornis represents an important side branch in avian evolution. Though Confuciusornis and its descendants all became extinct, it is the earliest known bird to abandon its reptilian teeth in favor of a light weight keratin beak. Remains of Confuciusornis are found at an Early Cretacaeous fossil site known as Sihetun in the Liaoning