Enantiornis Temporal range: Maastrichtian ~ | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Clade: | Avialae |
Clade: | † Enantiornithes |
Order: | † Enantiornithiformes Martin, 1983 |
Family: | † Enantiornithidae Nesov, 1984 |
Genus: | † Enantiornis Walker, 1981 |
Species: | †E. leali |
Binomial name | |
†Enantiornis leali Walker, 1981 | |
Enantiornis is a genus of Enantiornithes. The type and only currently accepted species E. leali is from the Late Cretaceous Lecho Formation at El Brete, Argentina. It was described from specimen PVL-4035, a coracoid, proximal scapula and proximal humerus found close to each other and suspected to represent the left shoulder of a single individual. [1]
The genus and the larger group it belongs to, get their name from the reversed scapula-coracoid connection they possess compared to modern birds and the hesperornithids that were their contemporaries: Enanti "opposite", ornis is "bird". [1]
Another left shoulder and wing, almost complete and found associated in one lump of rock, as well as a few isolated bones were also assigned to this species mainly based on size. It is among the largest enantiornithines discovered to date, [2] with a length in life of around 78.5 cm (30.9 in), hip height of 34 cm (13 in), weight of 6.75 kg (14.9 lb), [3] and wingspan comparable to herring gulls, around 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in). [2] Its ecological niche resembled that of a mid-sized vulture or eagle.
E. leali was possibly fairly closely related to Avisaurus , another genus of probably carnivorous enantiornithines, though its exact relationship is unclear. It was placed in a family of its own, Enantiornithidae. Other species from Asia that were previously placed in this genus are now split off. The former Enantiornis martini is now placed in Incolornis , while the former Enantiornis walkeri is now tentatively assigned to Explorornis . The reason for this is that these species were described when the diversity of enantiornithines was underestimated.
As no hindlimb elements are known from Enantiornis, it might include one of the El Brete enantiornithines known only from leg bones, namely Lectavis , Soroavisaurus or Yungavolucris . However, these apparently were all smaller than Enantiornis. Hindlimb material tentatively assigned to Martinavis and Elbretornis seems somewhat and a lot too small, respectively, to represent Enantiornis. [4]
The cladogram below is from Wang et al., 2022: [5]
Enantiornithes |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
l |
Key to letters:
b = Boluochia
c = Cathayornis
e = Enantiophoenix
f = Houornis
h = Longipteryx
i = Parabohaiornis
j = Pterygornis
l = Vorona
m = Yuanjiawaornis
n = Yungavolucris
The Enantiornithes, also known as enantiornithines or enantiornitheans in literature, are a group of extinct avialans, the most abundant and diverse group known from the Mesozoic era. Almost all retained teeth and clawed fingers on each wing, but otherwise looked much like modern birds externally. Over eighty species of Enantiornithes have been named, but some names represent only single bones, so it is likely that not all are valid. The Enantiornithes became extinct at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, along with Hesperornithes and all other non-avian dinosaurs.
Avisaurus is a genus of enantiornithine avialan from the Late Cretaceous of North America.
Noasaurus is a genus of ceratosaurian theropod dinosaur genus from the late Campanian-Maastrichtian of Argentina. The type and only species is N. leali.
Alexornis is a genus of enantiornithine birds from the Bocana Roja Formation of Baja California, Mexico. This geological formation has been dated to the late Cretaceous period, and more specifically to the Campanian age, about 73 mya. The type and only known species is Alexornis antecedens. Its name means "Alex's ancestral bird"; Alexornis from the given name of ornithologist Alexander Wetmore + Ancient Greek ornis, "bird", and antecedens, Latin for "going before" or "ancestral".
Yungavolucris is a genus of enantiornitheans. It contains the single species Yungavolucris brevipedalis, which lived in the Late Cretaceous. The fossil bones were found in the Lecho Formation at estancia El Brete, Argentina."Yungavolucris brevipedalis" means "Short-footed Yungas bird". The generic name, Yungavolucris is after the Yungas region + the Latin volucris, which translates to "bird". The specific name brevipedalis is from the Latin brevis, which means "short", + pedalis, from the Latin pes, meaning "foot".
Lectavis is a genus of enantiornithine avialan. Their fossil bones have been recovered from the Late Cretaceous Lecho Formation at estancia El Brete, Argentina. The genus contains a single species, Lectavis bretincola.
Gurilynia is a genus of enantiornithine birds. One species is known, G. nessovi. It lived during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, between 70 and 66 mya. Gurilynia is known from fragmentary fossils found at the Gurilyn Tsav locality of the Nemegt Formation in south Gobi, Mongolia.
Neuquenornis volans is a species of enantiornithean birds which lived during the late Cretaceous period in today's Patagonia, Argentina. It is the only known species of the genus Neuquenornis. Its fossils were found in the Santonian Bajo de la Carpa Formation, dating from about 85-83 million years ago. This was a sizeable bird for its time, with a tarsometatarsus 46.8mm long. Informal estimates suggest that it measured nearly 30 cm (12 in) in length excluding the tail.
Palintropus is a prehistoric bird genus from the Late Cretaceous. A single species has been named based on a proximal coracoid from the Lance Formation of Wyoming, dated to the latest Maastrichtian, 66 million years ago. Coracoids and a proximal scapula of two unnamed species from the upper Campanian Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, dating to between 76.5 and 75 million years ago, are also known.
Avisauridae is a family of extinct enantiornithine dinosaurs from the Cretaceous period, distinguished by several features of their ankle bones. Depending on the definition used, Avisauridae is either a broad and widespread group of advanced enantiornithines, or a small family within that group, restricted to species from the Late Cretaceous of North and South America.
Soroavisaurus is a genus of enantiornithean birds related to Avisaurus. It lived during the Late Cretaceous of Argentina. The only known species, S. australis, is known from fossils collected from the Lecho Formation of Estancia El Brete, in the southern tip of the province of Salta, Argentina. A binominal name of this animal means "Southern sister Avisaur".
Intiornis is an extinct genus of avisaurid enantiornithean birds which existed in what is now North-West Argentina during the late Cretaceous period.
Elbretornis is an extinct genus of enantiornithine which existed in what is now Salta Province, Argentina during the late Cretaceous period.
Martinavis is a genus of enantiornithine birds which existed in what is now southern France, North America and Salta Province, Argentina during the late Cretaceous period. It was named by Cyril A. Walker, Eric Buffetaut and Gareth J. Dyke in 2007, and the type species is Martinavis cruzyensis.
Chuanqilong is a monospecific genus of basal ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Liaoning Province, China that lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now the Jiufotang Formation. The type and only species, Chuanqilong chaoyangensis, is known from a nearly complete skeleton with a skull of a juvenile individual. It was described in 2014 by Fenglu Han, Wenjie Zheng, Dongyu Hu, Xing Xu, and Paul M. Barrett. Chuanqilong shows many similarities with Liaoningosaurus and may represent a later ontogenetic stage of the taxon.
Cratoavis is a genus of enantiornithines. The type and only currently described species is C. cearensis, from the Early Cretaceous of Araripe Basin, Ceará, Brazil. The fossil, an articulated skeleton with feathers attached to the wings and surrounding the body, extends considerably the temporal record of the group at South America.
Zhongjianosaurus is a genus of dromaeosaurid belonging to the Microraptoria. Believed to hail from the Yixian Formation, specifically the middle of the Jehol Biota, it is the smallest known microraptorine thus far discovered and one of the smallest non-avian theropod dinosaurs.
Jinguofortis is a genus of primitive avialan belonging to the clade Pygostylia that lived during the Valanginian stage of the Early Cretaceous. It was found in the Dabeigou Formation in northeastern China, and isotope dating from the samples overlying the bird-bearing horizon is 127 million years ago.
Mirarce is a genus of enantornithe bird from the Late Cretaceous of Utah. It contains a single species, M. eatoni. It was similar in size to modern turkeys.
Yuanjiawaornis is an extinct genus of large enantiornithean bird known from the early Cretaceous of present-day China. It is monotypic, with only type species Y. virisosus known.
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