Austinornis Explained

Austinornis is an extinct genus of prehistoric bird of uncertain phylogenetic placement from the Late Cretaceous of Texas. The paleontologist Julia A. Clarke named the genus in 2004 based on a partial tarsometatarsus fossil from Austin Chalk.^[1] Although Austinornis was thought to be a pangalliform,^[1] other researchers have disputed its classification and dismissed it in phylogenetic analyses due to the fragmentary nature of the holotype.^{[2] [3] [4]} Notably, in 2014, Gerald Mayr suggested that Austinornis is a non-neornithine from the Coniacian or Santonian age and that the specimen probably belongs to the ornithurine Apatornis or Iaceornis.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Clarke . J.A. . 2004 . Morphology, phylogenetic taxonomy, and systematics of Ichthyornis and Apatornis (Avialae: Ornithurae) . Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History . 286 . 1–179 . 10.1206/0003-0090(2004)286<0001:mptaso>2.0.co;2. 2246/454 . 84035285 .
2. Cécile Mourer-Chauviré. Martin Pickford. Brigitte Senut . 2011 . The first Palaeogene galliform from Africa . Journal of Ornithology . 152 . 3 . 617–622 . 10.1007/s10336-010-0630-9. 1799305.
3. Book: Braun. Edward L.. Avian Genomics in Ecology and Evolution. Cracraft. Joel. Houde. Peter. Resolving the Avian Tree of Life from Top to Bottom: The Promise and Potential Boundaries of the Phylogenomic Era. 2019. 151–210. 10.1007/978-3-030-16477-5_6. 978-3-030-16476-8. 198399272 .
4. Ksepka . Daniel T. . Early . Catherine M. . Dzikiewicz . Kate . Balanoff . Amy M. . October 2022 . Osteology and neuroanatomy of a phasianid (Aves: Galliformes) from the Miocene of Nebraska . Journal of Paleontology . 97 . en . 223–242 . 10.1017/jpa.2022.80 . 253033983 . 0022-3360.
5. Mayr. Gerald. March 2014. Smith. Andrew. The origins of crown group birds: molecules and fossils. Palaeontology. en. 57. 2. 231–242. 10.1111/pala.12103. 85180754 . free. 2014Palgy..57..231M .