Magnusavis
| Magnusavis Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian),
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| Holotype fossil | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Avialae |
| Clade: | †Enantiornithes |
| Genus: | †Magnusavis |
| Species: | †M. ekalakaensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Magnusavis ekalakaensis Clark et al., 2024
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Magnusavis is an extinct genus of large enantiornithine birds from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian-aged) Hell Creek Formation of Montana, United States. The genus contains a single species, M. ekalakaensis, known from an incomplete right tarsometatarsus and toe bone.[1]
Magnusavis is an early example of a bird of prey, and its bones indicate that it may have had the ability to catch and carry prey in a manner similar to modern hawks or owls.[2]
Etymology
[edit]The generic name Magnusavis is Latin for "big bird", while the specific name of the type species, ekalakaensis, honors the town of Ekalaka, Montana, which is near where the fossil was discovered.[1][2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Clark, Alexander D.; Atterholt, Jessie; Scannella, John B.; Carroll, Nathan; O'Connor, Jingmai K. (2024-10-09). Pinheiro, Felipe Lima (ed.). "New enantiornithine diversity in the Hell Creek Formation and the functional morphology of the avisaurid tarsometatarsus". PLOS One. 19 (10): e0310686. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0310686. ISSN 1932-6203. PMID 39383133.
- ^ a b "Earliest known fossil examples of predatory birds discovered: New species may have hunted like modern hawks and owls". phys.org. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
