Second species of enantiornithine bird from the Lower Cretaceous Changma Basin, northwestern China with implications for the taxonomic diversity of the Changma avifauna

• We describe a new enantiornithine specimen Dunhuangia cuii, gen. et sp. nov., from Lower Cretaceous Changma Basin, northwestern China.
• Dunhuangia cuii represents the second enantiornithine to be named from ornithuromorph dominated Changma avifauna.
• Phylogenetic analysis place Dunhuangia cuii in a derived position with Enantiornithes.

We report on a new enantiornithine bird, Dunhuangia cuii, gen. et sp. nov., from the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation of the Changma Basin, northwestern China. Although the material is incomplete, Dunhuangia cuii preserves unique coracoidal and sternal morphologies that distinguish it from other known enantiornithines; this specimen represents only the second enantiornithine reported from the Changma Basin that is diagnostic at the species level. This study enriches our understanding of the enantiornithine component of this ornithuromorph-dominated, Early Cretaceous avifauna.