#evgenavis

Psittacosaurus sibiricus and Evgenavis nobilis

Ilek Formation, ~121mya

By José Carlos Cortés on @quetzalcuetzpalin-art​

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Name: Evgenavis nobilis

Name Meaning: Evgeny’s Bird

First Described: 2014

Described By: O’Connor et al. 

Classification: Dinosauria, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia

Evgenavis is a recently described genus of Avialan from the Ilek Formation in Siberia, living in the Barremian age of the Early Cretaceous, approximately some time between 125 and 129 million years ago. It is, sadly, only known from a lower leg bone, so it’s difficult to really say much about it, and its phylogenetic position is problematic due to this lack of material, and it could be closely related to Confuciusornis or, potentially, an “opposite bird”, or Enantiornithine. The one bone from it is quite similar to that of Confuciusornis, though phylogenetic analyses have placed it in a large Enantiornithine polytomy. It does have attachment sites for two muscles, rather than the singular one found in most early birds, which may indicate that it had a different sort of musculature than early birds - more similar to several water birds such as Gruiformes and Anseriformes - or it could just be individual variation, or a reversion to an ancestral state (as two attachment sites are common in non-avian reptiles). The muscles, alternatively, could have served different function sin the movement of the bird, giving it greater force in its feet. Of course, coming up with further ideas about this bird based on such limited material is difficult. 

Source:

O’Connor, J. K., A. O. Averianov, N. V. Zelenkov. 2014. A Confuciusornithiform (Aves, Pygostylia) - like Tarsometatarsus from the Early Cretaceous of Siberia and a discussion of the evolution of avian hind-limb musculature. Journal of Vetebrate Paleontology 34 (3): 647 - 656.