Dinosaurs A to Z
Baptornithidae

Judinornis nogontsavensis

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Judinornis 5 m (16.4 ft) long
as long as 3 people standing fingertip to fingertip
Length
5 m (16.4 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (70 Mya)
Place
Asia · Mongolia
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Baptornithidae

Judinornis is a genus of prehistoric flightless birds from the late Cretaceous period. The single known species is Judinornis nogontsavensis. Its fossils have been found in Nemegt Formation rocks of southern Mongolia, and though the age of these deposits is not fully resolved, Judinornis probably lived some 70 million years ago during the early Maastrichtian.

The Nemegt Formation does not seem to contain marine sediments. Consequently, and unlike its relatives, this was apparently a bird of estuaries and rivers running from the mountains thrown up by the Cimmerian orogeny through the arid lands of continental East Asia towards the Turgai Sea and the former Shigatze Ocean.

What we know

  • Named by Nessov & Borkin, 1983.
  • Fossils found in Asia and Mongolia.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Judinornis — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.