Gobipteryx

Gobipteryx
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 75 Ma
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Subclass: †Enantiornithes
Superorder: †Euenantiornithes
Order: †Gobipterygiformes
Family: †Gobipterygidae
Genus: †Gobipteryx
Elżanowski, 1976
Species: †G. minuta
Binomial name
Gobipteryx minuta
Elżanowski, 1976
Synonyms

Gobipteryx is the name given to a genus of enantiornithine bird from the Late Cretaceous Period. Its fossils were found in the Barun Goyot Formation in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia and first described in 1976 from two fragmentary skulls (ZPAL-MgR-I/12 and ZPAL-MgR-I/32; Elżanowski, 1976). The type and only described species is Gobipteryx minuta.[1]

Elzanowski (1981) described seven specimens of G. minuta, found preserved still within their eggs. He documented evidence that the animals would have hatched with a superprecocial developmental pattern. [2]

The genus also includes the fossil formerly known as Nanantius valifanovi, described from a fragmentary skull with some postcranial bones from Khermeen Tsav (PIN-4492). The synonymy was revealed through analysis of the first good specimen (IGM-100/1011), a supremely preserved partial skull from the Djadochta Formation at Ukhaa Tolgod.[3]

Gobipteryx was originally considered distinct enough to be classified in a distinct order (Gobipterygiformes) and family (Gobipterygidae). Research indicates it is a member of the Enantiornithes, a group of primitive birds which includes Neuquenornis and Sinornis.[4]

References

  1. ^ Elżanowski, A. (1976): Palaeognathous bird from the Cretaceous of Central Asia. Nature 264: 51–53. doi:10.1038/264051a0 (HTML abstract)
  2. ^ Elżanowski, A. (1981): Embryonic Bird Skeletons from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Palaeontologica Polonica 42, 147-179.
  3. ^ Chiappe, Luis M.; Norell, Mark and Clark, James (2001): A New Skull of Gobipteryx minuta (Aves: Enantiornithes) from the Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert. American Museum Novitates 3346: 1–15. PDF fulltext
  4. ^ Padian, K. (2004). "Basal Avialae". p. 224, in Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P. and Osmólska, H. (eds.): The Dinosauria 2nd Edition. University of California Press, Berkeley ISBN 978-0-520-25408-4.