Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Enantiornis

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Kingdom
  
Species
  
†E. leali

Phylum
  
Chordata

Clade
  
Scientific name
  
Enantiornis leali

Rank
  
Genus

Enantiornis orig00deviantartnet3255f2012276baenantior

Order
  
†EnantiornithiformesMartin, 1983

Family
  
†EnantiornithidaeNesov, 1984

Similar
  

Enantiornis is a genus of enantiornithine birds. The type and only currently accepted species E. leali is from Late Cretaceous rocks at El Brete, Argentina.

They are among the largest enantiornithine birds discovered to date, with a length in life of around one meter (excluding tail) and its ecological niche resembled that of a mid-sized vulture or eagle.

E. leali was possibly fairly closely related to Avisaurus, another genus of probably carnivorous enantiornithines, though its exact relationship is unclear. It is placed in a family of its own, Enantiornithidae.

Other species from Asia that were previously placed in this genus are now split off. The former Enantiornis martini is now placed in Incolornis, while the former Enantiornis walkeri is now tentatively assigned to Explorornis. The reasons for this are that these birds were described when the diversity of enantiornithine birds was underestimated.

References

Enantiornis Wikipedia