[4] Based on the plant life present in the Tiaojishan Formation, Wang Yongdong and colleagues determined that the climate in Liaoning during the mid Jurassic would have been subtropical to temperate, warm and humid.

[1] Beautifully preserved fossils of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, salamanders, insects, arachnids[5] and other invertebrates, conifers, ginkgoes, cycads, horsetails, and ferns, and even the earliest known gliding mammal (Volaticotherium) have been discovered in these rocks.The tuffaceous composition of some rock layers show that this was a volcanic area, occasionally experiencing heavy ashfalls from eruptions.

Also, Lycopsids like Lycopodites and Sellaginellities, horsetails (Sphenopsida) like Equisetum, cycads like Anomozamites, and ferns (Filicopsida) like Todites and Coniopteris.

Cascocauda C. rong[11] Hebei Daohugou bed[12] One specimen A long-tailed batrachognathine anurognathid known from a complete skeleton of a juvenile with extensive preservation of pycnofibres and wing membranes.

Changchengopterus C. pani[13] Hebei A pterodactyliform known only from a single specimen of a young juvenile, measuring 475 millimeters (18.7 in) in wingspan.

Daohugoupterus D. delicatus[14] Inner Mongolia One specimen A relatively basal pterosaur known from a partial skeleton with soft tissue impressions.

The type species, D. modularis was the first known pterosaur to display features of both long-tailed rhamphorhynchoids and short-tailed pterodactyloids, and was described as a transitional fossil between the two groups.

Kunpengopterus K. sinensis[23] Liaoning Daohugou bed Three specimens A wukongopterid with an elongated head, 106.9 millimeters long, and an opposed thumb.

Luopterus L. mutoudengensis[16][26] Hebei One specimen A batrachognathine anurognathid, originally thought to be from the Early Cretaceous, with a wingspan that is about 40 centimeters, making it one of the smallest known pterosaurs.

These included the wing membrane, hair-like pycnofibers, a long version of the vane found at the end of "rhamphorhynchoid" tails, and a head crest with both a low bony base and a large keratin extension.

Sinomacrops S. bondei[12] Hebei Daohugou bed One specimen A long-tailed batrachognathine anurognathid known from a relatively complete skull and skeleton with soft tissue patches.

Wukongopterus W. lii Liaoning Daohugou bed One specimen[28] A wukongopterid unusual for having both an elongate neck and a long tail.

Given the exquisite preservation of one of the first specimen's fossils, Anchiornis became the first dinosaur species for which almost the entire life coloration could be determined.

The larger coverts of the wing were also white with gray or black tips, forming rows of darker dots along mid-wing.

Its fossilized feathers possess nanostructures which were analyzed and interpreted as melanosomes, showing similarity to organelles that produce a black iridescent color in certain species of extant birds.

Epidexipteryx E. hui Inner Mongolia Daohugou beds One specimen A scansoriopterygid known from a well-preserved partial skeleton, measuring 10 inches in length (17.5 inches including the incomplete tail feathers), that includes four long feathers on the tail, composed of a central rachis and vanes.

Apart from having a very birdlike skeletal structure in its legs, Pedopenna was remarkable due to the presence of long pennaceous feathers on the metatarsus (foot).

Since asymmetrical feathers are typical of animals adapted to flying, it is likely that Pedopenna represents an early stage in the development of these structures.

While its anatomy and integument share features with birds as well as derived dromaeosaurs such as Microraptor, cladistic analysis places the genus within the cluster of feathered non-avian dinosaurs near the origin of avialans.

Lu et al., 2010, reported that these beds were actually part of the Tiaojishan Formation, dating from the Late Jurassic period.

The holotype is from a subadult individual that probably measured 70 centimeters in length based on the proportions of the related Southern African species Heterodontosaurus.

This modified wrist bone and membrane-based plane is unique among all known dinosaurs, and might have resulted in wings similar in appearance to those of bats.

Its appearance was similar to a squirrel, with a long snout, curved, horny claws and flexible ankle and wrist joints typical of modern arboreal mammals.

The front teeth were spade-like, indicating that Agilodocodon could gnaw tree bark and consume gum or sap.

Juramaia J. sinensis[40] Liaoning One specimen A small, shrew-like therian, possibly a very basal eutherian, weighing around 15–17 grams (0.53–0.60 oz).

[40] The discovery of Juramaia provides new insight into the evolution of placental mammals by showing that their lineage diverged from that of the metatheres 35 million years earlier than previously thought, though its identity as a eutherian and its age as the Late Jurassic have been questioned.

[41][42] Megaconus M. mammaliaformis Inner Mongolia Daohugou bed One specimen An eleutherodontid haramiyidan thought to have been a herbivore that lived on the ground, having a similar posture to modern-day armadillos and rock hyraxes.

The following orders are represented in the formation; Ephemeroptera, Odonata, Plecoptera, Blattodea, Orthoptera, Hemiptera, Neuroptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera.

Anomozamites Bennetticarpus Cycadolepis Jacutiella Pteriophyllum Ptilophyllum Williamsonia Williamsoniella Zamiophyllum Zamites Prehistoric ginkgo trees, common, with 11 species present in 6 genera.

Pityocladus Pityophyllum Podizamites Schizolepis Yuccites Leptosporangiate ferns, represented by 17 species in 8 genera, are the second most abundant plant type in the formation.