Soroavisaurus australis
By Jack Wood on @thewoodparable
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Name: Soroavisaurus australis
Name Meaning: Sister Bird Reptile
First Described: 1993
Described By: Chiappe
Classification: Dinosauria, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Enantiornithes, Cathayornithiformes
Soroavisaurus is an Enantiornithine probably related to Avisaurus, that was originally described as Avisaurus before being placed in its own genus. It lived about 70 million years ago - so right between the two known species of Avisaurus, interestingly enough - in the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous. It is also known from the Lecho Formation of Argentina, a community filled with Opposite Birds. It is known from isolated foot bones that indicate it had a body length of about 40 centimeters long, making it almost as big as Avisaurus archibaldi, the larger of the two Avisaurus species. Its strong claws probably indicate that it, like Avisaurus, was a predatory bird, gripping prey with its claws and spotting from a distance before attacking them from the air.
Sources:
Martyniuk, M. P. 2012. A Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and other Winged Dinosaurs. Pan Aves; Vernon, New Jersey.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soroavisaurus
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