Holbotia

Holbotia had a very flexible neck, with a bone shape that allowed it to bend its head in a way similar to modern darters, which are fish-eating birds.2

Its lower jaw had unusually widely spaced small teeth, which is different from many other early birds that had teeth packed closely together.2

Holbotia is the first articulated (still connected) skeleton of an enantiornithine bird ever found in Mongolia.2

The fossil was originally thought to be a pterosaur, a flying reptile, but scientists later realized it was a bird.2

Holbotia lived between 132 and 121 million years ago, during the Hauterivian to Barremian ages of the Early Cretaceous.3

It had a crest on the back of its lower leg bone, a feature not seen in other early birds of its group.2