Genus: Anchiornis XU, ZHAO, NORELL, SULLIVAN, HONE, ERICKSON, WANG, HAN & GUO, 2008
Etymology: Greek, anchi, "nearby" Greek, ornis, "bird"; referring to the animal's being very closley related to birds.

Species: huxleyi XU, ZHAO, NORELL, SULLIVAN, HONE, ERICKSON, WANG, HAN & GUO, 2008
Etymology: In honor of T. H. Huxley, who pioneered research into avian origins.

Holotype: IVPP V14378

Locality: Yaolugou locality, Jianchung County, western Liaoning Province, China.

Horizon:

Biostratigraphy:

Age: Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous.

Material: Skeleton lacking the skull, anterior and middle cervical vertebrae, and posterior caudal vertebrae with faint feather impressions preserved on the slab and counterslab.

Referred material:

PEI, LI, MENG, NORELL & GAO, 2017

PKUP V1068, BMNHC PH804, BMNHC PH822 & BMNHC PH823: Skulls and skeletons.

Note: With feather impressions.

 

GUO, XU & JIA, 2018

Locality: Jianchang County, Liaoning Province, China.

Horizon: Tiaojishan Formation.

Biostratigraphy:

Age: Oxfordian Stage, Lower Malm Epoch, Late Jurassic.

Material:

41HIII 0404, 41HIII 0415: Nearly complete skulls and skeletons.

Note: With feather impressions.

 

HU, HOU, ZHANG & XU, 2009

Locality: Daxishan locality, Jianchang County, Liaoning Province, China.

Horizon: Tiaojishan Formation.

Biostratigraphy:

Age: Oxfordian Stage, Lower Malm Epoch, Late Jurassic.

Material:

LPM-B00169A, B: Nearly complete skull and fragmentary skeleton.

Note: With feather impressions.

LI, GAO, VINTHER, SHAWKEY, CLARKE, ALBA, MENG, BRIGGS & PRUM, 2010

BMHNC PH828 (part and counterpart): Skull and nearly complete specimen.

Note: With feather impressions.

WANG, PITTMAN, ZHENG, KAYE, FALK, HARTMAN & XU, 2017

STM-127: Skeleton with skin impression on the wing.

STM-132: Skeleton with skin impression on the forewing.

STM-127: Skin impression on the pes and toes.

STM-118: Skin impression on the lower leg and pubis.

STM-114: Skin impression on the tail.

STM-144: Skin impression on the middle of the tail.

STM-133: Skin impression on the lower leg.

STM-144: Skin impression on its manus.

ZHENG, WANG, SULLIVAN, ZHANG, ZHANG, WANG, LI & XU, 2018

STM0-38, 179, 224, 227, 228, STMA0-4: Skulls and skeletons.

Note: All with gastric pellets with fish scles and bones.

Note: STM0-179 has a pellet loged in the oesophagus with 3 fragmentary lizards skeletons.