#elsornis

[thedrawinggizzard]

Quick update on the prehistoric flyers. They are almost finished, which I was a little surprised by, I really thought they were going to take longer. I just need to add a few extra details and colour cryodrakons legs in (im not entirely sure what im going to do for that). I'd also like to get a better camera or lighting because I think the colours could come out better.

[alphynix]

The enantiornitheans ("opposite-birds") were the most diverse and widespread group of Mesozoic birds, existing all around the world throughout the Cretaceous period. They retained claws on their wings and had toothy snouts instead of beaks, and while most of them lacked the lift-generating tail fans of modern birds they appear to have still been very adept fliers.

But Elsornis keni here was doing something different.

Known from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia, about 80 million years ago, this opposite-bird  lived alongside famous dinosaurs like Velociraptor and Protoceratops in what is now the Gobi Desert. Only a single partial specimen has ever been found, so its full life appearance is unknown and this reconstruction is somewhat speculative, but it would have been around the size of a pigeon at 25cm long (10") – not including any decorative tail feathers it may have had, similar to other enantiornitheans.

It wing and shoulder bones were very odd for an opposite-bird, with proportions that don't match anything capable of competent flight. Instead Elsornis appears to have been a flightless enantiornithean, a representative of a previously unknown terrestrial lineage.

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[extinctworld-ua]

Elsornis

Elsornis – це рід енанціорнісових птахів. Відомий лише один вид – Elsornis keni. Elsornis жив у пізньому крейдяному періоді і відомий за частково зчленованим скам’янілим скелетом, знайденим у пустелі Гобі в Монголії.

Повний текст на сайті "Вимерлий світ":

https://extinctworld.in.ua/elsornis/

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Elsornis keni

By Scott Reid on @drawingwithdinosaurs

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Name: Elsornis keni

Name Meaning: Sand bird

First Described: 2007

Described By: Chiappe et al. 

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

Elsornis is an Opposite Bird from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia, living about 80 million years ago, in the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous. It is known from a partially articulated specimen containing many parts of the body, including limbs, vertebrae, and ribs. It had a significantly longer upper arm than lower arm, which distinguishes it from many other Enantiornithines. It also has a distinct bend in the scapula, the top part of the sternum divided into three segments, and the portions where the fingers are connected being significantly longer than normal. It was also unique in having a pneumatized wishbone, or an air filled wishbone, which is a typical feature in dinosaur skeletons but not seen often in the wishbone of Enantiornithes. The ratio of its total arm length to its forelimb places it distinctly with birds such as modern Paleognaths like Ostriches and Emus, which are typically flightless. Given that this ratio can often correlate with flight style, body mass, and lift capabilities in modern birds, this would imply that Elsornis itself was potentially a flightless Enantiornithine, a niche not commonly seen exploited by Mesozoic Avialans. This adds another layer of diversity to Opposite Birds not previously seen. 

Source:

Chiappe, L. M., S. Suzuki, G. J. Dyke, M. Watabe, K. Tsogtbaatar, R. Barsbold. 2007. A new Enantiornithine bird from the Late Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert. Journal of Systematic Paleontology 5 (2): 193 - 208. 

Shout out goes to @itsbgsebastian!

[thedrawinggizzard]

Birb and Ptero drawings.

Me: I really want this to be from the LATE cretaceous.

Also me: BUT I REALLY WANNA DRAW CONFUCIUSORNIS!

Will get round to colouring these bad boys in so stay tuned for when I've eventually finished ;)