Fissuravis

Fissuravis
Temporal range: Paleocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Order: †Lithornithiformes
Family: †Lithornithidae
Genus: †Fissuravis
(Gerald Mayr, 2007)[1]
Species

†Fissuravis weigelti

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.[1]

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.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Gerald Mayr, The Birds from the Paleocene Fissure Filling of Walbeck (Germany), Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(2):394–408, June 2007