| Enantiornis Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma |
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|---|---|
| Life restoration | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Subclass: | Enantiornithes |
| Superorder: | Euenantiornithes |
| Order: | Enantiornithiformes |
| Family: | Enantiornithidae Nesov, 1984 |
| Genus: | Enantiornis Walker, 1981 |
| Species | |
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E. leali Walker, 1981 (type) |
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Enantiornis is a genus of predatory enantiornithine bird. The type and only currently accepted species E. leali is from Late Cretaceous rocks at El Brete, Argentina.
It was among the largest enantiornithine discovered to date, with a length of around one meter (excluding tail)[1] and its ecological niche resembled that of a mid-sized vulture or eagle.
E. leali was possibly fairly closely related to Avisaurus, another genus of carnivorous enantiornithines, though its exact relationship is unclear. It is placed in a family of its own, Enantiornithidae.
Other species from Asia that were previously placed in this genus are now split off. The former Enantiornis martini is now placed in Incolornis, while the former Enantiornis walkeri is now tentatively assigned to Explorornis. The reasons for this are that these birds were described when the diversity of enantiornithine birds was underestimated.