Alexornis
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Alexornis antecedens Brodkorb, 1976 |
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Axelornis (a common lapsus) |
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[1].
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 orders 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 Asian 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.
[edit] 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. DOI:10.1016/0195-6671(91)90027-A (HTML abstract)
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Etymology: "Wetmore's preceding bird"; Alexornis from the surname of ornithologist Alexander Wetmore + Ancient Greek ornis, "bird". antecedens, Latin for "preceding".
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