#lithornithid

By José Carlos Cortés on @quetzalcuetzpalin-art​

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Name: Pseudocrypturus cercanaxius

Status: Extinct

First Described: 1988

Described By: Houde

Classification: Dinosauria, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Palaeognathae, Lithornithidae

Pseudocrypturus is our next Lithornithid, known from the Green River Formation of Wyoming, living approximately somewhere between 53.5 and 48.5 million years ago, in the Ypresian of the Eocene of the Paleogene. It is known from an entire skeleton on a slab, which is beautifully preserved and often used as the titular fossil for Lithornithids. 

By Ghedoghedo, CC BY-SA 3.0

You can see here some of the distinctive features of the Lithornithids as shown in Pseudocrypturus - a long, pointed beak, long legs, and long wings for soaring, as well as a long neck that allowed for the animal to reach remote sources of food. Pseudocrypturus was one of the smallest Lithornithids, about half the size of the largest, Paracathartes. This means it’s entirely possible that Pseudocrypturus spent more time in the trees perching than its larger relative. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudocrypturus 

By Ashley Patch on @palaeoshley

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Name: Calciavis grandei

Status: Extinct

First Described: 2016

Described By: Nesbitt et al.

Classification: Dinosauria, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Palaeognathae, Lithornithidae

Calciavis is our last Lithornithid, and a recently described one from the Green River Formation of Montana, living about 51 million years ago, in the Ypresian of the Eocene of the Paleogene. It is known from a fairly complete fossil on a slab that also preserves feathers, and it was quite small for a Lithornithid, probably less than 50 centimeters long. It had very long wings and a shorter skull, which probably helped it in having better flight abilities, though it probably also fed on less difficult to access food sources. It had long wing feathers which would have aided in increasing lift during flight, and it may even have tail flight feathers, making it unique for a Lithornithid in this respect and possibly indicating it flew more (or at least better) than its relatives. 

Source:

By Scott Reid on @drawingwithdinosaurs

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Name: Paracathartes howardae

Status: Extinct 

First Described: 1979

Described By: Harrison

Classification: Dinosauria, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Palaeognathae, Lithornithidae

Paracathartes is a Lithornithid known from the Willwood Formation of Wyoming, living on the Paleocene to Eocene boundary, around 57 to 55 million years ago, from the Thanetian to the Ypresian. It actually was probably buried in a volcanic eruption, and lived alongside other dinosaurs such as Gastornis, a possible early Terror Bird, and Neocathartes. Paracathartes itself was originally thought to be a vulture type of animal (hence the -cathartes) but was eventually found to be a Lithornithid. It is known from multiple individuals, including five that were fossilized together and probably died together, along with three eggs. It was about the size of a turkey, making it one of the largest known Lithornithids. In being so big, it actually resembles later ratites more than other Lithornithids did, indicating that it might have been more of a ground-dwelling Lithornithid, and not as good as flying. In fact, it may be an intermediate step - if Lithornithids are actually a “grade” of Palaeognaths leading up to ratites, then it could show an intermediate evolutionary form between flying “Lithornithids” and the flightless large ratites. If Lithornithids are a self-contained group, as currently thought, then Paracathartes is an interesting case in convergent evolution.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willwood_Formation 

Mayr, G. 2009. Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. 

By José Carlos Cortés on @quetzalcuetzpalin-art​

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Name: Fissuravis weigelti

Status: Extinct

First Described: 2007

Described By: Mayr 

Classification: Dinosauria, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Palaeognathae, Lithornithidae

Fissuravis is our first Lithornithid! Lithornithids were a group of early Palaeognaths - so the group of birds including ratites and tinamous. Unlike the former group, both tinamous and Lithornithids are able to fly, with about the same flight skills as your average pheasant. Lithornithids were an extinct group of flighted Palaeognaths that lived from the Paleocene to the Eocene, and they had long slender bills for probing out food. They also had more curved toes that would have allowed them to perch in trees more so than any living Palaeognath. Fissuravis itself is from the Walbeck fossil location of Germany, living about 59 million years ago, in the Selandian age of the Paleocene. This makes Fissuravis an early dinosaur to recover after the end-Cretaceous extinction (and Lithornithids in general). Fissuravis had powerful shoulders for flight, which would have given it soaring ability like its relative, Lithornis. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithornithidae

http://fossilworks.org/?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=105806 

Mayr, G. 2009. Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. 

By Jack Wood on @thewoodparable

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Name: Lithornis celetius, L. hookeri, L. nasi, L. plebius, L. promiscuus, L. vulturinus

Status: Extinct

First Described: 1840

Described By: Owen

Classification: Dinosauria, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Palaeognathae, Lithornithidae 

Lithornis is the titular member of the Lithornithids, the group of flighted, early derived and early living Palaeognaths with long beaks for gathering food out of hard to reach areas. Lithornis was a good flyer, with strong shoulder muscles that allowed it to soar, which made it and its relatives unique compared to the flightless ratites and poor flying tinamous that it shares a family group with. Lithornis is also unique because it was one of the first fossil birds to be studied extensively. They may have used their beaks to go along the shore and gather food, though it’s difficult to tell if they were really adapted for shoreline life, especially since they seemed to have decent feet for perching - another niche that really isn’t occupied by Palaeognaths today. They had long, thin legs and slender bodies, with long necks and long sharp bills, as well as strong wings. 

By Sheatherius, CC BY-SA 4.0 

Many different species of Lithornis are known, and they varied considerably in size. L. celetius is from the Fort Union Formation of Montana, living about 62 to 57 million years ago, so between the Selandian and Thanetian ages of the Paleocene. It was of fairly average size, about 75 centimeters long. L. hookeri is known from the Fur Formation of Denmark, living about 54 million years ago, in the Ypresian of the Eocene, and it was about 50 centimeters long - making it one of the smallest Lithornithids. L. nasi was slightly bigger than both, maybe around 80 centimeters, and it is known from the London Clay Formation in London, living about 55 million years ago in the Ypresian. L. plebius was also from the Fort Union Formation of Montana. L. promiscuus is from the Willwood Formation in Wyoming, living about 56 million years ago in the Ypresian, and it actually has an egg preserved that looked a lot like an egg from a modern Tinamou. Finally, L. vulturinus lived in both the London Clay and the Fur Formation, and even though it was first thought to be a vulture, it also was a member of this genus. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithornis