Information About

Avisaurus




  Name ''Avisaurus''
  Fossil Range Late Cretaceous
  Regnum Animal ia
  Phylum Chordata
  Classis Aves
  Subclassis Enantiornithes
  Ordo Enantiornithiformes
  Familia Avisauridae
  Genus '''''Avisaurus'''''
  Genus Authority Brett-Surman & Paul, 1985
  Subdivision Ranks Species


Avisaurus or "bird-lizard" is a member of a group of Cretaceous Bird s called Enantiornithes . Its first known remains were leg bones, discovered in the Late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of North America. ''Avisaurus'' probably had a wingspan of about 1.2 meters at the largest and hunted smaller birds and mammals. ''Avisaurus'' was one of the last enantiornitids. It had teeth and lacked a beak, making their face similar to those of raptors (the dinosaurs, not the birds of prey). Palentologists think that enatiornitids had a long growing period, but left the nest some days after hatching, ocuping various ecological niches along their lifespans. Avisauridae had probably only few species, in contrast with the 480 species of today's birds of prey,their modern equivalent.