High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Yanornis is an extinct genus of omnivorous Early Cretaceous birds, thought to be closely related to the common ancestor of all modern birds. One species, Yanornis martini, has been described from fossils found in the Jiufotang Formation at Chaoyang, Western Liaoning province, PRC, and as of 2004 five specimens were known. The age of the Jiufotang Formation is estimated to be early Aptian, about 120 million years ago. The genus name Yanornis is derived from the Ancient Chinese Yan dynasties, whose capital was at Chaoyang, and Ancient Greek ornis, "bird". The species Y. martini was named for avian paleontologist Larry Martin.