Mystiornis

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Mystiornis
Temporal range: 125  Ma
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Mystiornis.png
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Clade: Avialae
Clade: Enantiornithes
Family: Avisauridae
Genus: Mystiornis
Kurochkin et al., 2011
Species:
M. cyrili
Binomial name
Mystiornis cyrili
Kurochkin et al., 2011

Mystiornis is an extinct genus of bird which existed in what is now western Siberia, Russia during the early Cretaceous period (Barremian/Aptian age). It is known from an isolated metatarsus found in the Shestakovo-1 locality of southern Western Siberia. It was named by Evgeny N. Kurochkin, Nikita V. Zelenkov, Alexandr O. Averianov and Sergei V. Leshchinskiy in 2011, and the type species is Mystiornis cyrili. [1] While most recent studies place it as an enantiornithean, specifically an avisaurid, the authors note that the placement in both groups is tentative and further material will be required to make a firm decision on placement due to the unusual features of the existing material. [2]

Based on the strongly shortened metatarsal II and orientation of throchleae, Mystiornis had diving adaptations similar to that of Gansus and Neogaeornis . It was the size of a thrush. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 Evgeny N. Kurochkin; Nikita V. Zelenkov; Alexandr O. Averianov; Sergei V. Leshchinskiy (2011). "A new taxon of birds (Aves) from the Early Cretaceous of Western Siberia, Russia". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 9 (1): 109–117. doi:10.1080/14772019.2010.522202. S2CID   83823313.
  2. Atterholt, Jessie; Hutchison, J. Howard; O’Connor, Jingmai K. (2018-11-13). "The most complete enantiornithine from North America and a phylogenetic analysis of the Avisauridae". PeerJ. 6: e5910. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5910 . ISSN   2167-8359. PMC   6238772 . PMID   30479894.