Asteriornis
Fossil bird genus from Belgium / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Asteriornis ("Asteria's bird"[1]) is an extinct genus of bird from the Late Cretaceous of Belgium which is known from a single species, Asteriornis maastrichtensis. It was closely related to birds of the extant superorder Galloanserae such as chickens and ducks. Members of the genus were small, long-legged birds (~394 grams [13.9 oz])[1][2] that lived near the coastline and co-existed with more "primitive" types of birds such as Ichthyornis. Asteriornis is one of the oldest-known birds irrefutably belonging to the group Neornithes, which encompasses all modern birds. It possesses characteristics of both galliformes (chicken-like birds) and anseriformes (duck-like birds), indicating its position as a close relative of the last common ancestor for both groups.[1][3]
Asteriornis | |
---|---|
Skull in lateral view | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Infraclass: | Neognathae |
Clade: | Pangalloanserae |
Genus: | †Asteriornis Field et al. 2020 |
Type species | |
†Asteriornis maastrichtensis Field et al. 2020 |
Asteriornis may shed light on why Neornithes were the only dinosaurs to survive the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Its coexistence with non-neornithean birds such as Ichthyornis implies that competition was not a primary factor for the extinction of non-neornitheans, which resembled modern birds in most respects but died out with other non-avian dinosaurs. Small size,[4] a terrestrial lifestyle,[5] and a generalist diet[6] have all been inferred as ecological advantages possessed by early neornithes, allowing them to survive and diversify in the wake of the extinction.[3][7] Asteriornis fulfills these qualities, suggesting that such suspicions were justified.[1] Asteriornis is also evidence against a different hypothesis stating that modern birds originated from southern continents. This was supported by biogeographic ancestral reconstructions using phylogenies[8] and the discovery of Vegavis (a possible neornithean from Antarctica),[9] but Asteriornis's presence in Europe suggests that modern birds may have been widespread in northern continents in their early evolution.[1]