''Minerva'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

genus of

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s in the prehistoric family

Protostrigidae Protostrigidae is a prehistoric family of owls which occurred in North America, Europe, and Asia during the Eocene and early Oligocene periods. Genera include ''Eostrix'', ''Minerva'', '' Oligostrix'', and '' Primoptynx.'Primoptynx poliotauros ...

from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

of North America. Described in 1915 by R. W. Shufeldt, some of the bones of ''Minerva'' were interpreted as belonging to an

edentate Xenarthra (; from Ancient Greek wikt:ξένος, ξένος, xénos, "foreign, alien" + wikt:ἄρθρον, ἄρθρον, árthron, "joint") is a Order (biology), superorder and major clade of Placentalia, placental mammals native to the America ...

mammal by

Alexander Wetmore Frank Alexander Wetmore (June 18, 1886 – December 7, 1978) was an American ornithologist and avian paleontologist. He was the sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was also an elected member of both the American Philosophical Soc ...

in 1933, who assigned the remaining bones to the new genus ''Protostrix''. Analysis in 1983 re-established the genus ''Minerva'' was avian.

References

Extinct birds of North America Protostrigidae Eocene birds Birds described in 1915 {{Strigiformes-stub