Elsornis is a genus of enantiornithine bird. Only one species is known, Elsornis keni. It lived during the Late Cretaceous. It is known from a partially articulated fossil skeleton found in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.
The holotype fossil is given catalog number MPD - b 100/201. It is in the collection of the Mongolian Palaeontological Center. The fossil was collected at Togrogiin Shiree, South Gobi Aimak, Mongolia; Djadokhta Formation, Late Cretaceous, Campanian.
The fossil is extremely well preserved in three dimensions. It preserves a pneumatized Furcula, which was a character previously unknown in enantiornithines. Chiappe et al. (2007) conclude from the proportions of Elsornis ' pectoral skeleton that it was flightless or nearly so.[1] It may have glided like an Archaeopteryx, climbing in trees so hunt for its prey on the ground. However, if this is not the case, it may have hunted on the ground, snatching up small vertebrates and bugs. Like the other members of Avisauridae, it probably had small non-serrated teeth it used for hunting, and possibly scavenged the carcasses left by other, more formidable carnivores.
A study by Atterholt et al. in 2018 places Elsornis in the family Avisauridae.[2]
^Chiappe, Luis M.; Suzuki, Shigeru; Dyke, Gareth J.; Watabe, Mahito; Tsogtbaatar, K.; Barsbold, Rinchen (2007). "A new Enantiornithine bird from the Late Cretaceous of the Gobi desert". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 5 (2): 193–208. Bibcode:2007JSPal...5..193C. doi:10.1017/S1477201906001969. S2CID 85391743.
^Atterholt, Jessie; Hutchison, J. Howard; O’Connor, Jingmai K. (2018-11-13). "The most complete enantiornithine from North America and a phylogenetic analysis of the Avisauridae". PeerJ. 6: e5910. doi:10.7717/peerj.5910. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 6238772. PMID 30479894.
Elsornis is a genus of enantiornithine bird. Only one species is known, Elsornis keni. It lived during the Late Cretaceous. It is known from a partially...
Turgrugyin Member (mainly Tugriken Shireh locality) has produced the bird Elsornis; dromaeosaurid Mahakala: ornithomimid Aepyornithomimus; and protoceratopsid...
Shireh locality), P. andrewsi shared its paleoenvironment with the bird Elsornis; dromaeosaurids Mahakala and Velociraptor mongoliensis; and ornithomimid...
and ulnar quill knobs that indicate increased aerial abilities. At least Elsornis appears to have become secondarily flightless. Some researchers classify...
Cretaceous taxa, such as most avisaurids. Another member of Avisauridae is, Elsornis, due to its pectoral skeleton, it's likely that it could not fly, however...
sarysuensis, is known only from an isolated, asymmetrical contour feather †ElsornisElsornis is a genus of basal enantiornithine birds. It was flightless or nearly...
Originally described as a bird; more likely to be a non-avialan theropod. Elsornis Chiappe et al. 2007 Valid Late Cretaceous Mongolia Enaliornis Seeley 1876...
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