Evgenavis

Evgenavis
Temporal range:
Illustration of the type specimen of Evgenavis, a tarsometatarsus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Clade: Avialae
Clade: Avebrevicauda
Clade: Pygostylia
Genus: Evgenavis
O'Connor et al., 2014
Type species
Evgenavis nobilis
O'Connor et al., 2014

Evgenavis (named after the Russian paleontologist Evgeny Kurochkin) is a genus of pygostylian avialan that lived from the Barremian to the Aptian. The type specimen, ZIN PH 1/154, is an isolated tarsometatarsus found in the Ilek Formation (Shestakovo locality), Western Siberia. Evgenavis is anatomically similar to members of the Confuciusornithiformes, which would make it the only member of this clade known outside the Jehol Biota. However, a phylogenetic analysis instead resolved it as a member of the Enantiornithes.[1] A cladogram within a 2019 study involving a wide range of theropods included Evgenavis as the sister taxon to Longirostravis, generally regarded as a member of the family Longipterygidae.[2]

References

  1. ^ J.K, O'Connor; A.O, Averianov; N.V, Zelenkov (2014). "A Confuciusornithiform (Aves, Pygostylia)-Like Tarsometatarsus from the Early Cretaceous of Siberia and a Discussion of the Evolution of Avian Hind Limb Musculature". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (3): 647–656. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.828734. S2CID 85679607.
  2. ^ Hartman, Scott; Mortimer, Mickey; Wahl, William R.; Lomax, Dean R.; Lippincott, Jessica; Lovelace, David M. (2019). "A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight". PeerJ. 7: e7247. doi:10.7717/peerj.7247. PMC 6626525. PMID 31333906.