Dino card No. 1259 of 2,027

Neuquenornis

Say it: nway-KEN-or-niss

Name means: “flying bird from Neuquén Province”1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsLate Cretaceous

Neuquenornis was a small, flying bird that lived in what is now Argentina during the time of the dinosaurs. It had long legs and hooked claws, perfect for perching in trees and grabbing food on the ground or in shallow water.1

Lived

86 to 84 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Bajo de la Carpa Formation, Patagonia, Argentina3 1

Food

Meat3

Length

0.235 to 0.3 m1

excluding tail; the holotype is 23.5 cm long, informal estimates suggest up to 30 cm

Weight

0.205 kg1

Height

0.17 m1

at the hips

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How tall was it?

at the hips

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 1.5 bananas

lighter than a house cat

How big was Neuquenornis compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Neuquenornis belonged to a group of ancient birds called enantiornithes, which had teeth and claws on their wings.1

Its name means 'flying bird from Neuquén Province' because its fossils were found in that part of Argentina.1

This bird lived about 85 to 83 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.1

Scientists think Neuquenornis was an active flyer, based on the shape of its wing and shoulder bones.2

A nesting colony has been linked to Neuquenornis, suggesting it buried its eggs like modern megapode birds.1

The only known fossil of Neuquenornis is a nearly complete skeleton, including a skull, found in the Río Colorado Formation.2

AI-made picture of Neuquenornis — An AI-made picture of how Neuquenornis 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.

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Neuquenornis
Named by: Chiappe and Calvo 19943
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Avisauridae3
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae3
Age of the rocks: 86 to 84 million years (Santonian)3
Rock formations: Bajo de la Carpa3
Countries: Argentina3
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Neuquenornis was named and described by Luis M. Chiappe and Jorge O. Calvo in 1994, based on a fossil found in Patagonia, Argentina.3 1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly how Neuquenornis is related to other enantiornithine birds. Some studies place it near Avisaurus, while others think it is closer to Concornis and Cathayornis.1

Where the facts come from

Neuquenornis (en.wikipedia.org)
Neuquenornis volans , a new Late Cretaceous bird (Enantiornithes: Avisauridae) from Patagonia, Argentina (tandfonline.com)
Neuquenornis 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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