Sulcavis
Sign in to saveSulcavis is a genus of enantiornithean birds. One species is named, Sulcavis geeorum. The fossil was found in Early Cretaceous (121-125 million years ago) rocks in Liaoning Province, China.
Wikidata facts
- Parent taxon
- Bohaiornithidae
- Image
- Sulcavis skull.png
Show 5 more facts
- taxon rank
- genus
- taxon name
- Sulcavis
- start time
- 125000000-
- end time
- 121000000-
- Commons category
- Sulcavis
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via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
3 sectionsContents
- Discovery
- Phylogeny
- References
Sulcavis is a genus of enantiornithean birds. One species is named, Sulcavis geeorum. The fossil was found in Early Cretaceous (121-125 million years ago) rocks in Liaoning Province, China.
Sulcavis is the first discovery of a bird with ornamented tooth enamel. The enantiornitheans are unique among birds in showing minimal tooth reduction and a diversity of dental patterns. Sulcavis had robust teeth with grooves on the inside surface, which likely strengthened the teeth against harder food items. No previous bird species have preserved ridges, striations, serrated edges, or any other form of dental ornamentation.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Sulcavis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.