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Tingmiatornis

Say it: ting-mee-at-OR-nis

Name means: “those that fly”1

Ate: FishEarly birdsLate Cretaceous

Tingmiatornis was a large, ancient bird that lived in the warm Arctic about 90 million years ago. It could fly and probably dove into the water to catch fish for dinner.1

Lived

100 to 94 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Expedition Fiord, Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada3 1

Food

Fish1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Tingmiatornis lived in the High Arctic during a time of extreme warmth, with no seasonal ice and minimum mean annual temperatures of 14 °C.1

It is known from only a few bones, including a complete left humerus (upper arm bone).1

Tingmiatornis was an ornithurine bird, a group that includes modern birds and their close relatives.1

The fossils were found in a layer of rock between flood basalts and marine shales, suggesting a freshwater or brackish environment.1

Its name comes from the Inuktitut word 'Tingmiat', meaning 'those that fly'.1

Tingmiatornis lived alongside champsosaurs, turtles, and many kinds of fish in the warm Arctic waters.1

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

?How big was Tingmiatornis?

Nobody knows for sure because only a few bones have been found, but it was a large bird for its time, bigger than the similar Pasquiaornis.2 1

?Could Tingmiatornis fly?

Yes. The thickness of its wing bones shows it was capable of flight, and it probably also dove into the water to catch fish.2 1

?What did Tingmiatornis eat?

It probably ate fish. It lived alongside many kinds of fish, and if it was a diving bird, it would have caught them underwater.2 1

?When did Tingmiatornis live?

It lived about 92 million years ago, during the Turonian stage of the Cretaceous Period.2 1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Tingmiatornis
Named by: Bono et al. 20163
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Ornithurae3
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae3
Age of the rocks: 100 to 94 million years (Cenomanian)3
Rock formations: Kanguk3
Countries: Canada3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Tingmiatornis arctica was named in 2016 by R. K. Bono, J. Clarke, J. A. Tarduno, and D. Brinkman based on fossils found on Axel Heiberg Island in the Canadian Arctic.3 1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if Tingmiatornis was a diving bird like a modern grebe, because only a few bones have been found.1

Where the facts come from

A Large Ornithurine Bird (Tingmiatornis arctica) from the Turonian High Arctic: Climatic and Evolutionary Implications | Scientific Reports (nature.com)
Tingmiatornis (en.wikipedia.org)
Tingmiatornis 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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