| Alexornis Temporal range: Late Cretaceous |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
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Fossil
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Subclass: | Enantiornithes |
| Superorder: | Euenantiornithes |
| Order: | Alexornithiformes (disputed) |
| Family: | Alexornithidae (disputed) |
| Genus: | Alexornis Brodkorb, 1976 |
| Species: | A. antecedens |
| Binomial name | |
| Alexornis antecedens Brodkorb, 1976 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Axelornis (a common lapsus) |
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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.