A new genus of early Pleistocene Galliformes in the lower reaches of theFenhe River, Shanxi, China

A Galliformes bird fossil was collected from the early Pleistocene Sanmen Formation in the lower reaches of the Fenhe River, Shanxi Province. It has the following diagnostic features: the cotylae of the inner and outer proximal foramens of the tarsometatarsus are deep; the attachments of the internal ligament are well developed; trochlea metatarsi II extends father downward and inward than other genera of Galliformes; the wing of trochlea II is exilis; the wing of trochlea IV is longer than the extant genus and there is no attachment in the lower part; in the lower part of the inner cenmial crest, there are two lines along the tibiotarsus and the outer one is connected with the one which extends from the outer cenmial crest. According to the above-mentioned features, a new Galliformes bird Shanxiornis fenyinis gen. et sp. nov. is erected.