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Lithornithids
Lithornithidae is an extinct, possibly paraphyletic (but see below) group of early paleognath birds. They are known from fossils dating to the Upper Paleocene through the Middle Eocene of North America and Europe, with possible Late Cretaceous representatives. All are extinct today; the youngest specimen is the currently unnamed SGPIMH MEV1 specimen from the mid-Eocene Messel Pit site. Lithornithids had long, slender, bills for probing. They closely resembled modern tinamous. They possessed a rhynchokinetic skull with relatively unfused cranial bones, a weakly fused pygostyle and a splenial. The unguals were more curved than in tinamous and probably allowed better perching in trees. The order Lithornithiformes was erected by Dr. Peter Houde in 1988. Initially, only three genera (''Lithornis'', '' Paracathartes'', and ''Pseudocrypturus'') and eight named species were included. '' Promusophaga'' (Harrison & Walker, 1977) originally considered a stem-turaco, is considered synonymo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the Latin word for the white limestone known as chalk. The chalk of northern France and the white cliffs of south-eastern England date from the Cretaceous Period. Climate During the Late Cretaceous, the climate was warmer than present, although throughout the period a cooling trend is evident. The tropics became restricted to equatorial regions and northern latitudes experienced markedly more seasonal climatic conditions. Geography Due to plate tectonics, the Americas were gradually moving westward, causing the Atlantic Ocean to expand. The Western Interior Seaway divided North America into eastern and western halves; Appalachia and Laramidia. India maintained a northward course towards Asia. In the Southern Hemisphere, Australia a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paracathartes
''Paracathartes'' is a genus of extinct bird from the Wasachtian horizon of lower Eocene Wyoming. One species, ''Paracathartes howardae'' has been described. It is a paleognathous bird, turkey-like in stature and size, that probably resembled a tinamou quite closely. ''Paracathartes'' was described by Harrison as the earliest known cathartid vulture. Rich criticized this assignment.Rich, P. V. (1983) Houde (1988) included it as a member of the order Lithornithiformes and family Lithornithidae.Houde, Peter W. (1988) The holotype specimen is in the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year .... It has catalog number ROM 22658. It is the distal end of a left tibiotarsus. It was collected by G. E. Lindblad and G. Sternberg on 4 Au ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithornis Hookeri
''Lithornis'' is a genus of extinct paleognathous birds. Although ''Lithornis'' was able to fly well, their closest relatives are the extant tinamous (which are poor flyers) and ratites (which are flightless birds). Fossils of ''Lithornis'' are known with certainty from the Upper Paleocene through the Middle Eocene, but their fossil record may extend to the late Cretaceous. "''Lithornis''" is from ancient Greek for "stone bird", as it is one of the first fossil birds to become widely discussed. Presumably closely related genera are '' Paracathartes'' and ''Pseudocrypturus''. Species Six species have been recognized in modern times; undescribed ones are also likely to exist. The supposed tarsometatarsus piece from which ''"Lithornis" emuinus'' was described is actually a humerus fragment of the giant pseudotooth bird ''Dasornis''.Houde, P. (1988) ''Lithornis celetius'' ''L. celetius'' is from the Bangtail Quarry, Sedan Quadrangle, Park County, Montana, USA, and was described b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithornis Nasi
''Lithornis'' is a genus of extinct paleognathous birds. Although ''Lithornis'' was able to fly well, their closest relatives are the extant tinamous (which are poor flyers) and ratites (which are flightless birds). Fossils of ''Lithornis'' are known with certainty from the Upper Paleocene through the Middle Eocene, but their fossil record may extend to the late Cretaceous. "''Lithornis''" is from ancient Greek for "stone bird", as it is one of the first fossil birds to become widely discussed. Presumably closely related genera are '' Paracathartes'' and ''Pseudocrypturus''. Species Six species have been recognized in modern times; undescribed ones are also likely to exist. The supposed tarsometatarsus piece from which ''"Lithornis" emuinus'' was described is actually a humerus fragment of the giant pseudotooth bird ''Dasornis''.Houde, P. (1988) ''Lithornis celetius'' ''L. celetius'' is from the Bangtail Quarry, Sedan Quadrangle, Park County, Montana, USA, and was described b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calciavis Grandei
''Calciavis'' is an extinct genus of bird from the Eocene of Wyoming. It is a lithornithid, a member of a lineage of flying palaeognaths, distantly related to modern ratites. Like many other fossils from the Green River Formation, it is exceptionally well preserved, bearing soft-tissue impressions of skin and feathers. Discovery and Description The original specimen of ''Calciavis'', AMNH 30578, was found in the Fossil Butte Member of the Green River Formation, Wyoming, dating to around 51 million years ago. It is an exceptionally well preserved specimen, preserving most of the post-cranial skeleton aside from the femur and associated pelvic region, as well as soft-tissue impressions of feathers, skin, foot scales and claw sheaths. Another specimen, AMNH 30560 , was found in the vicinity, composed of a similarly complete most mostly disarticulate skeleton. It is diagnosed by several features of the skull and pelvis as well as having metatarsals IV and II subequal in distal ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fissuravis
Fissuravis ("fissure bird") is a genus of extinct bird from the Paleocene of Germany. A lithornithid, it was closely related to modern ratites, but it was a capable flyer.Gerald Mayr, The Birds from the Paleocene Fissure Filling of Walbeck (Germany), Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(2):394–408, June 2007 Ecology Hailing from the Walbeck Paleocene deposits, it is found amidst a rich avian fauna, which also included the gigantic ''Gastornis'' and the enigmatic ratite ''Remiornis''. Like most lithornithids, it was probably a very competent flyer, its coracoid remnants suggesting powerful flight musculature, and it likely engaged in a similar style of soaring flight to ''Lithornis'' and ''Pseudocrypturus ''Pseudocrypturus'' is a genus of extinct paleognathous bird. One species is known, ''Pseudocrypturus cercanaxius''. It is a relative of such modern birds as ostriches. It lived in the early Eocene. The holotype fossil is in the collection of the ...''. References {{ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
