Neuquenornis
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Neuquenornis 5 m (16.4 ft) long
as long as 3 people standing fingertip to fingertip
- Length
- 5 m (16.4 ft)
- Period
- Late Cretaceous (85 Mya)
- Place
- Argentina
- Food
- Herbivore
- Clade
- Avisauridae
Neuquenornis volans is a species of enantiornithean birds which lived during the late Cretaceous period in today’s Patagonia, Argentina. It is the only known species of the genus Neuquenornis. Its fossils were found in the Santonian Bajo de la Carpa Formation, dating from about 85-83 million years ago. This was a sizeable bird for its time, with a tarsometatarsus 46.8mm long. Informal estimates suggest that it measured nearly 30 cm (12 in) in length excluding the tail.
What we know
- Named by Chiappe & Calvo 1994.
- Fossils found in Argentina.
What we guess
The reconstruction notes for Neuquenornis — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.