Fissuravis
Extinct genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fissuravis ("fissure bird") is a genus of extinct bird from the Paleocene of Germany. A lithornithid, it was closely related to modern ratites, but it was a capable flyer.[2]
| Fissuravis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Infraclass: | Palaeognathae |
| Order: | †Lithornithiformes |
| Family: | †Lithornithidae |
| Genus: | †Fissuravis Mayr, 2007 |
| Species: | †F. weigelti |
| Binomial name | |
| †Fissuravis weigelti Mayr, 2007 | |
Ecology
Hailing from the Walbeck Paleocene deposits, it is found amidst a rich avian fauna, which also included the gigantic Gastornis and the enigmatic ratite Remiornis.
Like most lithornithids, it was probably a very competent flyer, its coracoid remnants suggesting powerful flight musculature, and it likely engaged in a similar style of soaring flight to Lithornis and Pseudocrypturus.[2]
