Fissuravis ("fissure bird") is a genus of extinct bird from the

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. A

lithornithid Lithornithidae is an extinct, possibly paraphyletic (but see below) group of early Paleognathae, paleognath birds. They are known from fossils dating to the Upper Paleocene through the Middle Eocene of North America and Europe, with possible Lat ...

, it was closely related to modern

ratites A ratite () is any of a diverse group of flightless, large, long-necked, and long-legged birds of the infraclass Palaeognathae. Kiwi, the exception, are much smaller and shorter-legged and are the only nocturnal extant ratites. The systematics ...

, 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 ''Gastornis'' is an extinct genus of large flightless birds that lived during the mid Paleocene to mid Eocene epochs of the Paleogene period. Fossils have been found in Europe, Asia and North America, with the remains from North America origina ...

'' and the enigmatic ratite ''

Remiornis ''Remiornis heberti'' is an extinct species of paleognath bird from the Paleocene of France. It is a species comparable in size to modern rheas, and possibly related to another European Paleogene ratite, ''Palaeotis ''Palaeotis'' is a genus ...

''. 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 ''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'' ar ...

'' 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

{{Taxonbar, from=Q23305166 Prehistoric bird genera Lithornithidae Paleogene birds of Europe Paleocene birds Cenozoic birds of Europe Fauna of Germany