Gobipteryx
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| Gobipteryx Fossil range: Late Cretaceous |
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| Gobipteryx minuta Elżanowski, 1976 |
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Nanantius valifanovi Kurochkin, 1996 |
Gobipteryx is the name given to a genus of enantiornithine bird from the Late Cretaceous Period. Its fossils were found in the Barun Goyot Formation in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia and first described in 1976 from two fragmentary skulls (ZPAL-MgR-I/12 and ZPAL-MgR-I/32; Elżanowski, 1976). The type and only described species is Gobipteryx minuta.
The genus also includes the fossil formerly known as Nanantius valifanovi, described from a fragmentary skull with some postcranial bones from Khermeen Tsav (PIN-4492). The synonymy was revealed through analysis of the first good specimen (IGM-100/1011), a supremely preserved partial skull from the Djadochta Formation at Ukhaa Tolgod (Chiappe et al., 2001). Fossil eggs described as oogenus Laevisoolithus have turned out to be assignable to Gobipteryx based on bones of the avian embryos found therein[citation needed].
Gobipteryx is sometimes considered distinct enough to be classified in a distinct order (Gobipterygiformes) and family (Gobipterygidae), but most scientists refuse to accept classification beyond the genus, pending analysis of more material of the species and its putative relatives.
[edit] References
- Chiappe, Luis M.; Norell, Mark and Clark, James (2001): A New Skull of Gobipteryx minuta (Aves: Enantiornithes) from the Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert. American Museum Novitates 3346: 1–15. PDF fulltext
- Elżanowski, A. (1976): Palaeognathous bird from the Cretaceous of Central Asia. Nature 264: 51–53. doi:10.1038/264051a0 (HTML abstract)
- Kurochkin, E. (1996): A new enantiornithid of the Mongolian Late Cretaceous, and a general appraisal of the Infraclass Enantiornithes (Aves). Russian Academy of Sciences, Palaeontological Institute, Special Issue: 1-50.
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