Noguerornis

Noguerornis is known from only one partial skeleton, which includes parts of the wings, a wishbone, and some feathers.1

Its humerus (upper arm bone) was 22.8 mm long, and its ulna (forearm bone) was 24.3 mm long, showing it was a very small bird.1

The fossil was discovered by the González Redondo brothers in the famous La Pedrera quarry, which also preserves many other fossils from the Early Cretaceous.1

Noguerornis had a wishbone (furcula) with a 55-degree angle between its branches, which is a feature seen in both primitive and advanced birds.1

Scientists classify Noguerornis as an enantiornithine bird, a group of early birds that were common during the Cretaceous but died out with the dinosaurs.23

The fossil includes carbonized impressions of feathers, including some flight feathers (remiges) and coverts.1

Noguerornis lived around 130 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous, when Spain was covered by a warm sea with limestone islands.23