Wyleyia is a type of extinct bird that lived a long time ago during the early Cretaceous period, about 138 million years ago.
It comes from a place called Sussex in England. This bird is known from just one piece of a bone called a humerus, which is part of the wing.
Wyleyia was named to honor J. F. Wyley, who discovered the bone in some clay deposits in Henfield, Sussex. The name Wyleyia valdensis means “from the Weald,” referring to the area where the bone was found.
The bone itself was found in a rock layer called the Hastings Beds, which dates back to a time between 140 and 136 million years ago.
At first, scientists thought Wyleyia belonged to a different family of dinosaurs that weren’t birds. But now, most believe it was one of the earliest birds. However, scientists are still figuring out exactly where it fits in the bird family tree.
Some researchers think it might be related to a group of early birds called enantiornithines or other early birds called neornithine palaeognaths. Because of the limited evidence, the exact classification of Wyleyia is still uncertain.
In simple terms, Wyleyia is an important part of understanding how birds evolved from dinosaurs millions of years ago.