Catenoleimus

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Catenoleimus Fossil range: Late Cretaceous (Turonian)
Conservation status
Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Subclass: Enantiornithes? Genus: Catenoleimus Panteleev, 1998 Species: C. anachoretus
Binomial name
Catenoleimus anachoretus Panteleev, 1998

Catenoleimus is a prehistoric bird genus from the Late Cretaceous. It lived during the mid-late Turonian stage, around 90 million years ago^{[verification needed]}. A single species Catenoleimus anachoretus has been described, and this is only known from one piece of coracoid (specimen PO 4606), found in the Bissekty Formation of the Kyzyl Kum in present-day Uzbekistan.

This bird appears to be a mid-sized enantiornithine, perhaps 20-25 cm long in life^[1]. The morphology of the bone is rather plesiomorphic compared to contemporary Enantiornithes^[1]. On the other hand, lineages of quite basal Enantiornithines are known to have flourished even then and presumably occurred in today's Central Asia also.Thus, the phylogenetic placement of this bird requires more study, which may be pointless without more material of this or related species becoming available.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Mortimer, Michael (2004): The Theropod Database: Phylogeny of taxa. Retrieved 2007-OCT-29.

[edit] External links

• Dinosauricon: Specimen drawing (bottom row, third from the right) by Michael Mortimer. Retrieved 2007-OCT-29.