Iberomesornis
3D Dinopedia Insectivorous
Period of life:
130-125 mya
Taxonomy:
Birds
Height:
0.08 m
Countries:
3D Dinopedia images/flags/Spain.png
Cretaceous period Iberomesornis | 3D Dinopedia
Cretaceous period Iberomesornis 3D Dinopedia
Cretaceous period Iberomesornis 3D Dinopedia
Cretaceous period Iberomesornis 3D Dinopedia
What the name means: Medium bird from the Iberian Peninsula
Iberomesornis is a species of enantiornithine birds that lived 125 million years ago in the territory of modern Spain. The fossil of this bird was first discovered in 1985 by Armando Díaz Romeral in Las Hoyas, in the east of central Spain. Unfortunately, neither the skull nor the wings were ever found. In 1992, paleontologists José Luis Sanz and José Fernando Bonaparte gave the bird its scientific name.
Iberomesornis was quite small, no larger than a big modern sparrow, but already a more advanced bird than the "first birds" Archaeopteryx. Its tail became significantly shorter and transformed into a pygostyle – a characteristic bird bone, formed by several fused last tail vertebrae, to which long feathers were attached. The structure of the toes was the same as in modern birds, so Iberomesornis could easily perch on branches. Its flight apparatus was very well developed, allowing the bird to catch small insects in flight in the forests of the Cretaceous period. Like its enantiornithine relatives, Iberomesornis likely had small claws on its wings.
Other animals
3D Dinopedia INTERESTING FACTS
3D Dinopedia PUZZLES
3D Dinopedia HOME
3D Dinopedia 3D MODEL "SKIN"
3D Dinopedia 3D MODEL "MUSCLES"
3D Dinopedia 3D MODEL "SKELETON"
3D Dinopedia VISION
3D Dinopedia NEIGHBORS
3D Dinopedia VOICE ACTING
3D Dinopedia AR - MODE
3D Dinopedia GALLERY
3D Dinopedia HISTORY OF DISCOVERIES