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Brodavis

Say it: BRO-da-vis

Name means: “Brodavis means 'Brod's bird' after the Brod family who helped with research.”1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsLate Cretaceous

Brodavis was a diving bird that lived at the same time as T. rex. It swam in rivers and lakes and used its feet to chase fish underwater.1

Lived

84 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Fossils have been found in Canada (Manitoba and Saskatchewan), the United States (South Dakota), and Mongolia.3 1

Food

Meat3

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Brodavis is the first freshwater hesperornithiform bird ever discovered. Most of its relatives lived in the sea.1

It lived during the very end of the Age of Dinosaurs, from about 83 to 66 million years ago.3

Brodavis had light bones, not heavy ones like other diving birds. Scientists think it might have been able to fly a little.1

Four species of Brodavis have been named: B. americanus, B. baileyi, B. mongoliensis, and B. varneri.1

The first Brodavis fossil was a single foot bone found in the Frenchman Formation of Canada.1

One species, B. baileyi, comes from the famous Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota, where T. rex and Triceratops also lived.1

AI-made picture of Brodavis — An AI-made picture of how Brodavis 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 Brodavis

?Was Brodavis a dinosaur?

Yes, Brodavis was a type of bird, and birds are living dinosaurs. It belonged to a group called Hesperornithiformes.1

?Could Brodavis fly?

Maybe a little. Its bones were lighter than those of other diving birds, which suggests it might have been able to fly, but scientists are not sure.1 2

?How big was Brodavis?

Nobody knows for sure because only foot bones have been found. It was probably about the size of a modern loon, but scientists cannot give an exact length or weight.1

?What did Brodavis eat?

Brodavis was a diving bird that chased fish underwater using its feet, so it probably ate fish and other small aquatic animals.1 2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Brodavis
Named by: Martin et al. 20123
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Brodavidae3
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae3
Age of the rocks: 84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Pierre Shale, Frenchman, Hell Creek3
Countries: USA, Canada, Mongolia3
Fossil records: 5 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Brodavis was named in 2012 by Larry D. Martin, Evgeny N. Kurochkin, and Tim T. Tokaryk. They described it from foot bones found in North America and Asia.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if Brodavis could fly. Its bones were lighter than those of other hesperornithiforms, which suggests it might have had some flying ability.1

Where the facts come from

Brodavis (en.wikipedia.org)
NEW FAMILY OF PREHISTORIC BIRDS FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN (saskatchewan.ca)
Brodavis in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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