Elsornis
Encyclopedia
Elsornis is a genus of enantiornithine bird. Only one species is known, Elsornis keni. It lived during the Late Cretaceous. It is known from a partially articulated fossil
skeleton found in the Gobi Desert
in Mongolia
.
The holotype
fossil is given catalog number MPD - b 100/201. It is in the collection of the Mongolian Palaeontological Center. The fossil was collected at Togrogiin Shiree, South Gobi Aimak, Mongolia; Djadokhta Formation, Late Cretaceous, Campanian
.
The fossil is extremely well preserved in three dimensions. It preserves a pneumatized Furcula
, which was a character previously unknown in enantiornithines. Chiappe et al. (2006) conclude from the proportions of Elsornis ' pectoral skeleton that it was flightless or nearly so.
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
skeleton found in the Gobi Desert
Gobi Desert
The Gobi is a large desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi Corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the...
in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
.
The holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
fossil is given catalog number MPD - b 100/201. It is in the collection of the Mongolian Palaeontological Center. The fossil was collected at Togrogiin Shiree, South Gobi Aimak, Mongolia; Djadokhta Formation, Late Cretaceous, Campanian
Campanian
The Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...
.
The fossil is extremely well preserved in three dimensions. It preserves a pneumatized Furcula
Furcula
The ' is a forked bone found in birds, formed by the fusion of the two clavicles. In birds, its function is the strengthening of the thoracic skeleton to withstand the rigors of flight....
, which was a character previously unknown in enantiornithines. Chiappe et al. (2006) conclude from the proportions of Elsornis ' pectoral skeleton that it was flightless or nearly so.