39°59′N74°43′W / 39.983°N 74.717°W /39.983; -74.717
| Laornis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Family: | †Laornithidae Cracraft, 1973 |
| Genus: | †Laornis Marsh, 1870 |
| Species: | †L. edvardsianus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Laornis edvardsianus Marsh, 1870 | |
| Synonyms | |
LaopteryxKurochkin, 1995 (lapsus) | |
Laornis is agenus of a prehistoric neornithinebirds, known only from SpecimenYPM 820, a singletibiotarsus leg bone[1] discovered in the late 19th century. Consequently, the genus ismonotypic, containing only thespeciesLaornis edvardsianus. Regarding itsscientific name,Laornis means "stone bird", fromAncient Greeklao "stone" +ornis "bird".edvardsianus honorsAlphonse Milne-Edwards, to compliment the Frenchpaleontologist on his landmark studyRecherches Anatomiques et Paleontologiques pour servir a l'Histoire des Oiseaux Fossiles de la France, the second part of which was nearing completion at that time.[1][2]
It was found in LateCretaceous or EarlyPaleocene[3][4] sediments of theHornerstown Formation at the BirminghamMarl Pits,Pemberton Township, New Jersey, United States (39°59'N, 74°43'W). The deposits were laid down at about 66–63 Ma (million years ago).
The bone is rather distinct but not very diagnostic. Its general shape suggests thatLaornis was a semi-aquatic bird with longish legs and a body at least the size of a large goose. It may have been a wading bird, in which case it stood probably around one meter (3–4 ft) tall in life, depending on how long its legs and neck were exactly, which of course cannot be told from the one known bone. On the other hand, it might have been a largerseabird with proportionally shorter legs.[1]
It has variously been allied with theCharadriiformes and theGruiformes, and is tentatively placed in a family of its own,Laornithidae. It may be considered some kind ofbasal gruiform, or more probably part of an ancestral lineage related to the common ancestor of gruiform, charadriiform, and/or any or all other modern "wading" bird families. It might have been one of the extinct stilt-leggedwaterfowl of thePresbyornithidae, and it cannot even be excluded that it was an ancientpseudotooth bird, seabirds of unclear affiliation thatevolved to immense proportions in theNeogene but by the time ofLaornis probably were mostly the size of a largepetrel.[1]
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