Pronunciation: WY-lee-yuh
Meaning: for J. G. Wyley
Author/s: Harrison and Walker (1973)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Sussex, England
Discovery Chart Position: #237
Wyleyia valdensis
The funny thing about Wyleyia valdensis is that it's known only from a funny bone—a humerus—and not a particularly good one at that. Having compared it to the humeri of pterosaurs and small dinosaurs like Hypsilophodon and Deinonychus, Harrison and Walker were confident that it belonged to Britain's oldest bird, similar in form to both Archaeopteryx and Ichthyornis only smaller, but they refused to be drawn on specific affinities, which is understandible given the paucity of its remains.
It was dismissed as "almost certainly a reptilian" in 1978 by Pierce Brodkorb who has mentored his fair share of BANDits (proponents of the Birds Are Not Dinosaurs movement), then pegged as a primitive coelurosaurian theropod of the none-avian variety by David Norman in 1990. But now it appears to be a bird again, gliding aimlessly around Maniraptora until better fossils turn up to aid its classification.
It was dismissed as "almost certainly a reptilian" in 1978 by Pierce Brodkorb who has mentored his fair share of BANDits (proponents of the Birds Are Not Dinosaurs movement), then pegged as a primitive coelurosaurian theropod of the none-avian variety by David Norman in 1990. But now it appears to be a bird again, gliding aimlessly around Maniraptora until better fossils turn up to aid its classification.
(For Wyley, from the Weald)Etymology
Wyleyia is named for J.F. Wyley who discovered its remains.The species epithet, valdensis, is derived from the Latin "valdus" ("Weald" referring to the Weald clay) and "-ensis" (from, place of origin).
Discovery
The remains of Wyleyia were discovered in the Weald Clay of Henfield, Sussex, England, by J. F. Wyley in July of 1964.
The holotype (BMNH A3658) is a damaged partial humerus.
