Asteriornis

Fossil bird genus from Belgium

Asteriornis

Asteriornis ("Asteria's bird") is an extinct genus of bird from the Late Cretaceous of Belgium which is known from a single species, Asteriornis maastrichtensis. It was a small, long-legged bird that lived near the coastline and co-existed with more "primitive" types of birds such as Ichthyornis. Asteriornis is one of the oldest-known birds irrefutably belonging to the group Neornithes, which encompasses all modern birds, and is possibly closely related to birds of the extant superorder Galloanserae such as chickens and ducks.

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