Aviraptor

Name: Aviraptor ‭(‬bird thief‭)‬.
Phonetic: A-ve-rap-tor.
Named By: Gerald Mayr‭ & ‬J�rn H.Hurum‭ ‬-‭ ‬2020.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Aves,‭ ‬Accipitriformes,‭ ‬Accipitridae.
Species: A.‭ ‬vlongicrus‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Uncertain but noted to be comparable to some of the smallest hawks alive today.
Known locations: Poland.
Time period: Oligocene.
Fossil representation: Partially preserved but almost complete individual.

       Aviraptor is a genus of hawk that lived in‭ ‬Eastern Europe during the Oligocene period.‭ ‬Aviraptor is one of the smallest fossil hawks discovered being approximately comparable to the modern day little sparrowhawk‭ (‬Accipiter minullus‭)‬,‭ ‬and the Tiny hawk‭ (‬Accipiter superciliosus‭)‬.‭ ‬As a small hawk,‭ ‬Aviraptor would have primarily been a predator of small birds,‭ ‬though other small creature such as bats,‭ ‬lizards and rodents may have also been hunted.‭ ‬This is certainly true at least for modern day hawks of similar size and build to Aviraptor.




Further reading
-‭ ‬A tiny,‭ ‬long-legged raptor from the early Oligocene of Poland may be the earliest bird-eating diurnal bird of prey‭"‬.‭ ‬The Science of Nature.‭ ‬107‭ (‬6‭)‬:‭ ‬48.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Gerald Mayr‭ & ‬J�rn H.Hurum‭ ‬-‭ ‬2020.

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