World of Dinosaurs/Confuciusornis

Basics
Confuciusornis means "Confucius Bird".

Confuciusornis lived during the Cretaceous Period.

Anatomy
Confuciusornis is about the size of a crow.

Confuciusornis is an early bird, while also having some theropod traits.

It is the oldest known bird to have a beak.

Phylogeny
Confuciusornis is a theropod.

All theropods are dinosaurs.

All dinosaurs are amniotes and all dinosaurs are tetrapods.

Biomechanics
Confuciusornis is the first bird to have a beak.

Its leg posture was also more crouched than previous theropods.

Fossil Record
It is found in some beautiful specimens in China.

Ecology
The area Confuciusornis lived was a cool climate.

Reptiles such as crocodilians are not found.

Trees were prevalent.

Biogeography
There were frequent volcanic eruptions during this time.

There was also flooding at the time.