At the time of its discovery, it was the earliest bird known to possess an alula, a batch of feathers on the alular (first) digit that in modern birds can be separately moved to improve stability at low flight speeds. Later, more enantiornithean specimens were discovered with alula and this fact has consequently strengthen the hypothesis that these animals were able to develop a highly complex and active flight. The wide presence of this trait in both Enantiornithes and Ornithuromorpha, the clade which comprises modern birds along with their fossil counterparts, suggest that the development of the alula, and the flight capabilities that it implies, occur early in the avian evolution, presumably in the base of Ornithothoraces.