Fissuravis Temporal range: Paleocene |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Subclass: | Carinatae |
Infraclass: | Neornithes |
Superorder: | Paleognathae |
Order: | †Lithornithiformes |
Family: | Lithornithidae |
Genus: |
Fissuravis (Gerald Mayr, 2007) |
Species | |
†Fissuravis weigelti |
†Fissuravis weigelti
Fissuravis ("fissure bird") is a genus of extinct bird from the Paleocene of Germany. A lithornithid, it was closely related to modern ratites, but it was a capable flyer.
Hailing from the Walbeck Paleocene deposits, it is found amidst a rich avian fauna, which also included the gigantic Gastornis and the enigmatic ratite Remiornis.
Like most lithornithids, it was probably a very competent flyer, its coracoid remnants suggesting powerful flight musculature, and it likely engaged in a similar style of soaring flight to Lithornis and Pseudocrypturus.