Rahonavis
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Rahonavis Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma |
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| Restored skeleton | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Paraves |
| Genus: |
†Rahonavis Forster et al., 1998b |
| Type species | |
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†Rahona ostromi Forster et al., 1998a |
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| Species | |
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†Rahonavis ostromi |
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| Synonyms | |
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Rahona ostromi Forster et al., 1998a |
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†Rahonavis ostromi
Forster et al., 1998a
Rahona ostromi Forster et al., 1998a
(preoccupied)
Rahonavis is a genus of bird-like theropods from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian, about 70 mya) of what is now northwestern Madagascar. It is known from a partial skeleton (UA 8656) found by Catherine Forster and colleagues in Maevarano Formation rocks at a quarry near Berivotra, Mahajanga Province.Rahonavis was a small predator, at about 70 centimetres (2.3 ft) long, with the typical Velociraptor-like raised sickle claw on the second toe.
The name Rahonavis means, approximately, "cloud menace bird", from Malagasy rahona (RA-hoo-na, "cloud" or "menace") + Latin avis "bird". The specific name, R. ostromi, was coined in honor of John Ostrom.
Rahonavis has historically been the subject of some uncertainty as to its proper taxonomic position - whether it is a member of the clade Avialae (birds) or a closely related dromaeosaurid. The presence of quill knobs on its ulna (forearm bone) led initially to its inclusion as an avialan; however, the rest of the skeleton is rather typically dromaeosaurid in its attributes. Given the extremely close affinities between primitive birds and their dromaeosaurid cousins, along with the possibility that flight may have developed and been lost multiple times among these groups, it has been difficult to place Rahonavis firmly among or outside the birds.
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