Vegavis is a genus of extinct bird that lived in Antarctica during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. The type species is Vegavis iaai. Vegavis was initially considered to be a member of Anseriformes within Galloanserae, but this claim has not been supported by some recent studies.
Plotopteridae is an extinct family of flightless seabirds with uncertain placement, generally considered as member of order Suliformes. They exhibited remarkable convergent evolution with the penguins, particularly with the now extinct giant penguins. That they lived in the North Pacific, the other side of the world from the penguins, has led to them being described at times as the Northern Hemisphere's penguins, though they were not closely related. More recent studies have shown, however, that the shoulder-girdle, forelimb and sternum of plotopterids differ significantly from those of penguins, so comparisons in terms of function may not be entirely accurate. Plotopterids are regarded as closely related to Anhingidae (darters) and Phalacrocoracidae (cormorants). On the other hand, there is a theory that this group may have a common ancestor with penguins due to the similarity of forelimb and brain morphology. However, the endocast morphology of stem group Sphenisciformes differs from both Plotopteridae and modern penguins.
Hornby Island of British Columbia, Canada, is one of the two northernmost Gulf Islands, the other being Denman Island. It is located near Vancouver Island's Comox Valley,
Ichthyornithes is an extinct group of toothed avialan dinosaurs very closely related to the common ancestor of all modern birds. They are known from fossil remains found throughout the late Cretaceous period of North America, though only two genera, Ichthyornis and Janavis, are represented by complete enough fossils to have been named. Ichthyornitheans became extinct at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, along with enantiornitheans, all other non-avian dinosaurs, and many other animal and plant groups.
Neogaeornis is a controversial prehistoric genus of diving bird. The single known species, Neogaeornis wetzeli, was described from fossils found in the Campanian to Maastrichtian Quiriquina Formation of Chile. It lived about 70-67 million years ago. It remains known from the single tarsometatarsus described in 1929 by Lambrecht, and today housed in the Paläontologisches Institut und Museum in Kiel, Germany.
Cimolopteryx is a prehistoric bird genus from the Late Cretaceous Period. It is currently thought to contain only a single species, Cimolopteryx rara. The only specimen confidently attributed to C. rara was found in the Lance Formation of Wyoming, dating to the end of the Maastrichtian age, which ended about 66 million years ago. The dubious species "Cimolopteryx" maxima has been described from both the Lance Formation and the Hell Creek Formation of Montana. The humeral end of a left coracoid from the Frenchman Formation of southern Saskatchewan has also been attributed to the genus.
Ceramornis is a genus of ornithuran dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous. It lived shortly before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event in the Maastrichtian, some 66 million years ago (mya). Its remains were found in the Lull 2 location, a Lance Formation site in Niobrara County, Wyoming. A single species is known, Ceramornis major, and even that only from a proximal piece of coracoid. This is specimen UCMP V53957, which was collected by a University of California team in 1958.
Ornithurae is a natural group which includes the common ancestor of Ichthyornis, Hesperornis, and all modern birds as well as all other descendants of that common ancestor.
Zhenyuanopterus is a genus of boreopterid pterosaur which is known from Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. It contains one species, Zhenyuanopterus longirostris, which was first described and named by Lü Junchang.
Pangalliformes is the scientific name of a provisional clade of birds within the group Galloanserae. It is defined as all birds more closely related to chickens than to ducks, and includes all modern chickens, turkeys, pheasants, and megapodes, as well as extinct species that do not fall within the crown group Galliformes.
Qinornis is a genus of extinct avialans from the early-mid-Paleocene epoch, about 61 million years ago. It is known from a single fossil specimen consisting of a partial hind limb and foot, which was found in Fangou Formation deposits in Luonan County, China.
The Northumberland Formation is a Late Cretaceous (?Campanian-?Maastrichtian)-aged geologic formation in Canada. It belongs to the larger Nanaimo Group. Indeterminate bird and pterosaur fossils have been recovered from the formation, as well as a potential gladius of Eromangateuthis. An extensive diversity of shark teeth is known from the formation; many appear to be closely allied with modern deep-water shark taxa, suggesting a deep-water environment for the formation. The most well-known exposures of the formation are on Hornby Island.
Vegaviidae is an extinct family of birds of uncertain phylogenetic placement, which existed during the Late Cretaceous and possibly the Paleocene. Definitive fossils attributed to the family have only been found in Antarctica, though other fossils from the Southern Hemisphere including Chile and New Zealand may represent this group. The putative Campanian vegaviid from Canada known as Maaqwi, more likely belongs to the Procellariformes.
The year 2018 in archosaur paleontology was eventful. Archosaurs include the only living dinosaur group — birds — and the reptile crocodilians, plus all extinct dinosaurs, extinct crocodilian relatives, and pterosaurs. Archosaur palaeontology is the scientific study of those animals, especially as they existed before the Holocene Epoch began about 11,700 years ago. The year 2018 in paleontology included various significant developments regarding archosaurs.
Leptorhynchos is an extinct genus of caenagnathid theropod from the Late Cretaceous of what is now the US state of Texas, although it has been suggested to also exist in Alberta and South Dakota. The type species is L. gaddisi, and it is currently the only widely accepted valid species. The generic name of Leptorhynchos comes from the Greek "leptos" meaning "small" and "rhynchos" meaning "beak". The specific epithet is in honor of the Gaddis family, who owned the land on which the holotype was discovered.
The biogeography of Paravian dinosaurs is the study of the global distribution of Paraves through geological history. Paraves is a clade that includes all of the Theropoda that are more closely related to birds than to oviraptorosaurs. These include Dromaeosauridae and Troodontidae and Avialae. The distribution of paraves is closely related to the evolution of the clade. Understanding the changes in their distributions may shed light on problems like how and why paraves evolve, eventually gaining the ability to fly.
Kupoupou is an extinct genus of bird from the Paleocene-aged Takatika Grit of the Chatham Islands, New Zealand which is believed to be the oldest penguin genus known to date. The type species, K. stilwelli, was named and described by Blokland et al. in 2019.
Austinornis is an extinct genus of prehistoric bird of uncertain phylogenetic placement from the Late Cretaceous of Texas. The paleontologist Julia A. Clarke named the genus in 2004 based on a partial tarsometatarsus fossil from Austin Chalk. Although Austinornis was thought to be a pangalliform, other researchers have disputed its classification and dismissed it in phylogenetic analyses due to the fragmentary nature of the holotype. Notably, in 2014, Gerald Mayr suggested that Austinornis is a non-neornithine from the Coniacian or Santonian age and that the specimen probably belongs to the ornithurine Apatornis or Iaceornis.
Tonsala is an extinct genus of Plotopteridae, a family of flightless seabird similar in biology with penguins, but more closely related to modern cormorants. The genus is known from terrains dated from the Late Oligocene of the State of Washington and Japan.
Stemec is an extinct genus of Plotopteridae, a family of flightless seabird similar in biology with penguins, but more closely related to modern cormorants. The genus is known from terrains dated from the Late Oligocene Sooke Formation of British Columbia
