Patagopteryx

Name: Patagopteryx ‭(‬Patagonia wing‭)‬.
Phonetic: Pat-ah-gop-teh-rix.
Named By: H.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Alvarenga‭ & ‬J.‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Bonaparte‭ ‬-‭ ‬1992.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Aves,‭ ‬Patagopterygiformes,‭ ‬Patagopterygidae.
Species: A.‭ ‬minutus‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Uncertain.
Size: About‭ ‬60‭ ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: Argentina,‭ ‬Patagonia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Bajo de la Carpa Formation.
Time period: Santonian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Single specimen.

       Patagopteryx is a very interesting bird since it is known to have had flight capable ancestors,‭ ‬yet evolved to become what is termed secondarily flightless.‭ ‬This makes Patagopteryx one of the earliest examples of a bird that evolved to become flightless in order to fit into a particular ecological niche.‭ ‬So far it is still not known if Patagopteryx was a herbivore or a Carnivore,‭ ‬or indeed if it ate both meat and plants making it an omnivore.‭ ‬This is because hard beaks like birds can be used to eat anything.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new flightless landbird from the Cretaceous of Patagonia.‭ ‬Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History,‭ ‬Science Series‭ ‬36:51-64‭ [‬J.‭ ‬Hunter/J.‭ ‬Hunter/J.‭ ‬Hunter‭]‬,‭ ‬H.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Alvarenga‭ & ‬J.‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Bonaparte‭ ‬-‭ ‬1992.



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