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Alcmonavis

Say it: alk-moh-NAY-vis

Name means: “Altmühl River bird”1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsLate Jurassic

Alcmonavis was a bird-like dinosaur that lived about 150 million years ago in what is now Germany. It had a wing that was better at flapping than the famous Archaeopteryx. This makes it one of the most bird-like creatures from the Jurassic period.1

Lived

149 to 145 million years ago5

Late Jurassic

Fossils found in

Old Schöpfel Quarry at Schaudiberg, Mühlheim, near Mörnsheim, Bavaria, Germany1

Food

Meat5

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Alcmonavis is known only from a single right wing bone. Scientists found it in 2017.1

Its wing had strong muscle attachments that helped it flap its wings powerfully. This suggests it was a better flier than Archaeopteryx.1

Alcmonavis lived during the Late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago.5

The name Alcmonavis comes from the old Celtic name for the Altmühl River, which flows near where the fossil was found.1

It was a bit larger than Archaeopteryx, making it the biggest avialan dinosaur known from the Jurassic.1

Alcmonavis had a very robust second finger bone, which is a feature seen in more advanced birds.1

AI-made picture of Alcmonavis — An AI-made picture of how Alcmonavis might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Alcmonavis

?How big was Alcmonavis?

It was a bit larger than Archaeopteryx. Its wing was about 111% the size of the largest known Archaeopteryx wing, and its upper arm bone (humerus) was about 9 centimetres long.2

?Could Alcmonavis fly?

Yes, it was a better flier than Archaeopteryx. Its wing had strong muscle attachments for flapping, showing it was adapted for active flight.3 4

?Is Alcmonavis a dinosaur?

Yes, it is an avialan dinosaur, which is a group that includes birds and their closest dinosaur relatives. It lived about 150 million years ago in the Late Jurassic.2

?When did Alcmonavis live?

It lived during the Late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago. Its fossil was found in rocks from the early Tithonian age.2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Alcmonavis
Named by: Rauhut et al. 20195
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Avialae5
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae5
Age of the rocks: 149 to 145 million years (Tithonian)5
Rock formations: Mörnsheim5
Countries: Germany5
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Alcmonavis was named in 2019 by Oliver Rauhut and colleagues. The fossil was found by Roland Pöschl in 2017 at the Old Schöpfel Quarry in Bavaria, Germany.5 1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating whether Alcmonavis was a better flier than Archaeopteryx, and how exactly birds first evolved flapping flight.1

Where the facts come from

A non-archaeopterygid avialan theropod from the Late Jurassic of southern Germany (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Alcmonavis (en.wikipedia.org)
A non-archaeopterygid avialan theropod from the Late Jurassic of southern Germany | eLife (elifesciences.org)
A non-archaeopterygid avialan theropod from the Late Jurassic of southern Germany (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Alcmonavis in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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