Information About

Alexornis




  Name ''Alexornis''
  Status Fossil
  Fossil Range Late Cretaceous
  Regnum Animal ia
  Phylum Chordata
  Classis Aves
  Subclassis Enantiornithes
  Superordo Euenantiornithes
  Ordo Alexornithiformes <small>(disputed)</small>
  Familia Alexornithidae <small>(disputed)</small>
  Genus '''''Alexornis'''''
  Genus Authority Brodkorb, 1976
  Species '''''A antecedens'''''
  Binomial ''Alexornis antecedens''
  Binomial Authority Brodkorb , 1976


''Alexornis'' is a Genus of Enantiornithine Bird from the Late Cretaceous ( Campanian , 84-71 Mya ) of southwestern North America . The Type and only Species is '''''Alexornis antecedens'''''
''' Alexander Wetmore + Ancient Greek ''ornis'', "bird". ''antecedens'', Latin for "preceding"..

Fragmentary remains containing postcranial elements have been found in the Boca Roja Formation in Baja California state, Mexico . It was originally described as an early Modern Bird and a possible ancestor of the Order s Coraciiformes and Piciformes . Subsequent analysis showed that it was an enantiornithine. It is sometimes united in a distinct order and family (Alexornithiformes and Alexornithidae, respectively) with the Central Asia n genera '' Kizylkumavis '' and '' Sazavis '', but this is not usually considered correct and the relationship of these birds - which may or may not form a close-knit group - to other Enantiornithes is unresolved.


REFERENCES

  • Brodkorb, Pierce (1976): Discovery of a Cretaceous bird, apparently ancestral to the orders Coraciiformes and Piciformes (Aves: Carinatae). ''Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology'' '''27''': 67-73. PDF fulltext (File size 70MB!)


  • Chiappe, Luis M. (1991): Cretaceous birds of Latin America. ''Cretaceous Research'' '''12'''(1): 55-63. (HTML abstract)



Footnotes