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Hesperornithiformes
Sign in to saveAlso known as Hesperornithiform, Hesperornithiforms, Hesperornithes
Hesperornithes is an extinct and highly specialized group of aquatic avialans closely related to the ancestors of modern birds. They inhabited both marine and freshwater habitats in the Northern Hemisphere, and include genera such as Hesperornis, Baptornis, Parahesperornis, Enaliornis, and Potamornis, all strong-swimming, predatory divers. Many of the species most specialized for swimming were completely flightless. The largest known hesperornithean, Canadaga arctica, may have reached a maximum adult length of .
Wikidata facts
- Parent taxon
- Ornithurae
- Image
- Hesperornis BW (white background).jpg
Show 8 more facts
- Commons category
- Hesperornithiformes
- taxon rank
- order
- taxon name
- Hesperornithiformes
- topic's main category
- Category:Hesperornitheans
- taxon common name
- Гесперорнисоподібні
- start time
- 100000000-
- end time
- 66000000-0
- time period
- Late Cretaceous
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Anatomy and ecology
- Evolution
- Classification
- Relationships
- References
Hesperornithes is an extinct and highly specialized group of aquatic avialans closely related to the ancestors of modern birds. They inhabited both marine and freshwater habitats in the Northern Hemisphere, and include genera such as Hesperornis, Baptornis, Parahesperornis, Enaliornis, and Potamornis, all strong-swimming, predatory divers. Many of the species most specialized for swimming were completely flightless. The largest known hesperornithean, Canadaga arctica, may have reached a maximum adult length of .
Hesperornitheans were the only Mesozoic avialans known to colonize the oceans. They were wiped out in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, along with enantiornitheans and all other non-avian dinosaurs.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Hesperornithiformes” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.