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Enaliornis

Say it: en-al-ee-OR-nis

Name means: “sea bird”1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsEarly Cretaceous

Enaliornis was an ancient seabird that lived during the time of the dinosaurs. It swam in the seas with lobed feet, like a grebe, and probably ate fish and other sea creatures.1 2

Lived

106 to 100 million years ago2

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Coldham Common near Cambridge, England1 2

Food

Meat2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Enaliornis is the oldest known hesperornithine bird, living about 100 million years ago.1

The largest species, Enaliornis barretti, was about the size of a large pigeon.1

Scientists are not sure if Enaliornis had teeth like other hesperornithines, because its skull is not well preserved.1

Enaliornis probably had lobed feet for swimming, not webbed feet like ducks.1

It was first named Pelagornis in 1866, but that name was already used for a different bird, so it was changed to Enaliornis in 1876.1 2

Three species of Enaliornis are known: the small E. sedgwicki, the medium E. seeleyi, and the large E. barretti.1

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

?Was Enaliornis a dinosaur?

Yes, Enaliornis was a bird, and birds are a type of dinosaur. It was an ancient seabird that lived during the time of the dinosaurs.1

?How big was Enaliornis?

The largest species, Enaliornis barretti, was about the size of a large pigeon. The other two species were smaller.1

?Could Enaliornis fly?

No, Enaliornis probably could not fly well. Scientists believe it did not have well-developed wings, and it swam with its lobed feet instead.1

?Where did Enaliornis live?

Enaliornis lived near what is now Cambridge, England, about 100 million years ago. Its fossils have been found there.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Enaliornis
Named by: Seeley 18762
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Hesperornithiformes2
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae2
Age of the rocks: 106 to 100 million years (Albian)2
Rock formations: Gault2
Countries: United Kingdom2
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database2
Also known as: Pelagornis (older names now counted as the same animal)2
Discovery: Enaliornis was named by Harry Govier Seeley in 1876 based on fossils found near Cambridge, England. Seeley had first called it Pelagornis in 1866, but that name was already taken.1 2
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Enaliornis had teeth, because the fossil skull pieces are too incomplete to tell.1

Where the facts come from

Enaliornis (en.wikipedia.org)
Enaliornis 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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