Gobipteryx minuta
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Gobipteryx Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 72 Ma |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | †Enantiornithes |
| Family: | †Gobipterygidae |
| Genus: |
†Gobipteryx Elżanowski, 1974 |
| Species: | †G. minuta |
| Binomial name | |
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Gobipteryx minuta Elżanowski, 1974 |
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| Synonyms | |
Gobipteryx (from Gobi [referring to the Gobi Desert where it was first discovered], Greek pteron “wing”) is a genus of prehistoric bird from the Campanian Age of the Late Cretaceous Period. It is not known to have any direct descendants. Like the rest of the enantiornithes clade, Gobipteryx is thought to have gone extinct near the end of the Cretaceous.
Based on a skull length of 45 millimeters, Gobipteryx has been estimated to be approximately the size of a partridge. Its bones are fibrolamellar.
The skull’s general shape is gradually tapering toward the front.Gobipteryx has a toothless beak formed from the fusion of the premaxillae bones. The skull is characterized as being rhynchokinetic with the pterygoid bones articulating with both the vomers and the palatine. The nares are tear shaped and the choana is located below them, more rosteral than in most modern birds. The nares are smaller than the antorbital fenestrae, a primitive feature for ornithurae birds. In addition, Gobipteryx's skull has an articulated rostrum. The jaw hinge is associated with the articulation of the quadrate with the pterygoid processes. The articular region of the mandible contains internal and retroarticular processes and has uniform symphysis. This animal has a large, uniform, and sutureless braincase.
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