Elektorornis
| Elektorornis Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian), | |
|---|---|
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| Foot of the holotype specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Avialae |
| Clade: | †Enantiornithes |
| Genus: | †ElektorornisXing et al., 2019 |
| Species: | †E. chenguangi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Elektorornis chenguangi Xing et al., 2019 | |
Elektorornis (lit.'amber bird') is an extinct genus of enantiornithean bird from the Late Cretaceous of Myanmar. The genus contains a single species, Elektorornis chenguangi, known from a partial hindlimb and a small amount of wing plumage preserved in amber. In life, it would have been slightly smaller than a sparrow and possibly used its characteristically elongated middle toe to probe for food. Elektorornis chenguangi is the first bird species described from remains found in Burmese amber, although other undiagnostic enantiornithean specimens have previously been found.[1][2]
Alexander D. Clark and Jingmai O'Connor (2021) observed that extant animals with similar probing structures consistently have additional anatomical traits that allow the animal to penetrate a hard substrate, such as wood. The researchers concluded that Elektorornis likely would have had an edentulous (toothless) beak to pry or gouge into wood, allowing it to use its uniquely elongated toe to acquire prey. If the genus did have teeth, they were likely restricted to the back part of the mouth.[3]
See also
- Fortipesavis - another enantiornithean preserved in Burmese amber
- Paleobiota of Burmese amber
References
- ^Xing, Lida; O’Connor, Jingmai K.; Chiappe, Luis M.; McKellar, Ryan C.; Carroll, Nathan; Hu, Han; Bai, Ming; Lei, Fumin (2019). "A New Enantiornithine Bird with Unusual Pedal Proportions Found in Amber". Current Biology. 29 (14): 2396–2401. Bibcode:2019CBio...29E2396X. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2019.05.077. PMID 31303484.
- ^"An Ancient Bird With an Insanely Long Toe Has Been Found Preserved in Amber". Science Alert. 10 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
- ^Clark, Alexander D.; O'Connor, Jingmai K. (2021-06-14). "Exploring the ecomorphology of two Cretaceous enantiornithines with unique pedal morphology". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 9. Bibcode:2021FrEEv...954156C. doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.654156. ISSN 2296-701X.
External links
Data related to Elektorornis at Wikispecies
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