Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Subsectio: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Euornithes
Magnordo: Hesperornithes
Ordo: †Hesperornithiformes
Familia: †Enaliornithidae
Genus: Enaliornis
Species: E. barretti - E. sedgwicki
Name
Enaliornis Seeley, 1869
Synonyms
Palaeocolymbus Seeley, 1869
Palaeocolyntus Seeley, 1869
Pelagornis Seeley, 1864
Enaliornis is a genus of hesperornithine birds which lived in the early Late Cretaceous, making them the oldest known hesperornithines. Fossils have been found near Cambridge, England. Due to its lack of certain[clarification needed] hesperornithid apomorphies, they were much more "conventional" birds and were initially held to be Gaviiformes (loons/divers).[2]
Description
Based on the remnants that have been studied, it has not been determined if these birds had teeth like the others from this order. However, they were believed to not have well-developed wings.[3] Like other hesperornithines, they probably had lobed feet for swimming, rather than webbed feet.[4]
Classification
Enaliornis was originally named Pelagornis ("sea bird") by Seeley in 1866, but that name was preoccupied by a Miocene bird related to the pelicans. Three species have been described: the small Enaliornis sedgwicki, the medium-sized Enaliornis seeleyi, and the large Enaliornis barretti.
The size of the largest of the three species was comparable to a large pigeon.[3] Together, they are the only birds currently assigned to the family Enaliornithidae. The presumed hesperornithine Potamornis from the Late Cretaceous Lance Formation of Buck Creek (United States) may also be related to this group.
References
Brands, S. (2012)
Harrison & Walker (1973)
Perrins, C. (1987)
Lim, J. D., Zhou, Z., Martin, L. D., Baek, K. S., & Yang, S. Y. (2000). The oldest known tracks of web-footed birds from the Lower Cretaceous of South Korea. Naturwissenschaften, 87(6), 256-259.
Sources
Brands, Sheila (7 Apr 2012). "Taxon: Genus †Enaliornis". Project: The Taxonomicon. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 12 Jun 2012.
Harrison, C.J.O.; Walker, C.A. (1973). "Wyleyia: a new bird humerus from the Lower Cretaceous of England" (PDF). Palaeontology. 16 (4): 721–728. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-06.
Perrins, Christopher (1987) [1979]. Harrison, C.J.O. (ed.). Birds: Their Lifes, Their Ways, Their World. Reader's Digest Association, Inc. p. 166. ISBN 0895770652.
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