Vorona VƱƏROONUH
"Etymology TBD"
- Length
- 5 m (16.4 ft)
- Period
- Late Jurassic (70 Mya)
- Place
- North America · Madagascar
- Food
- Herbivore
- Clade
- Dinosauria
Vorona berivotrensis ( ; Malagasy for “bird”, berivotrensis, “from Berivotra”) is a monotypic genus of prehistoric birds. It was described from fossils found in a Maevarano Formation quarry near the village of Berivotra, Mahajanga Province, Madagascar. The age of the fossilised specimen is Late Cretaceous, probably Maastrichtian (72.1-66.0 mya). V. berivotrensis is known from scattered remains, possibly from a single individual (UA 8651 and FMNH PA715).
The phylogenic affinity of Vorona is hard to determine due to the fragmentary nature of the remains, mainly because the fossil shows a mix of basal avian features as well as some that seem very derived. Vorona might be a primitive ornithuromorph. At least two studies recovered it as part of Enantiornithes, however.
What we know
- Named by Forster et al., 1996.
- Fossils found in North America and Madagascar.