Kaririavis mater de Souza Carvalho et al., 2021 (new genus and species)
(Type foot of Kaririavis mater, from de Souza Carvalho et al., 2021)
Meaning of name: Kaririavis = Karirí [Indigenous people of northeastern Brazil] bird; mater = mother
Age: Early Cretaceous (Aptian)
Where found: Crato Formation, Ceará, Brazil
How much is known: A partial right foot. Feathers preserved near the specimen may have belonged to the same individual.
Notes: Kaririavis was a member of Euornithes (also known as Ornithuromorpha), a group including modern birds and some of their closest extinct relatives. In fact, it is the oldest known euornithean from South America. Most euornitheans during the Cretaceous probably would have looked essentially like modern birds, though many of them retained teeth.
Kaririavis was small for a Cretaceous euornithean, about the size of a sparrow. It was also unusual in that its one preserved foot claw is quite large and strongly hooked, whereas most other Cretaceous euornitheans appear to have been ground-dwelling or aquatic dinosaurs with smaller, straighter claws. Despite this, the foot of Kaririavis does not appear to have had particular specializations for grasping or perching. Without more complete skeletons, it is difficult to determine exactly how the behavior and ecology of Kaririavis might have differed from other Cretaceous euornitheans.
Reference: de Souza Carvalho, I., F.L. Agnolin, S. Rozadilla, F.E. Novas, J.A.F.G. Andrade, and J. Xavier-Neto. 2021. A new ornithuromorph bird from the Lower Cretaceous of South America. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2021.1988623