Aegialornis Fossil range: Early? - Late Eocene
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Apodiformes Family: Aegialornithidae Lydekker, 1891 Genus: Aegialornis Lydekker, 1891
Species
Aegialornis gallicus (type) Aegialornis leenhardti (disputed) Aegialornis wetmorei Aegialornis broweri (disputed) Aegialornis germanicus (disputed) The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Three small ammonite fossils, each approximately 1. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Families Apodidae Hemiprocnidae Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three families: the swifts, Apodidae, the tree swifts, Hemiprocnidae, and the hummingbirds, Trochilidae. ... Richard Lydekker (1849 - April 16, 1915) was an English naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books on natural history. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... In biology, a species is a kind of organism. ... In zoological nomenclature, a type is a specimen or a taxon. ...
Synonyms
Tachyornis Milne-Edwards, 1892 Belornis Milne-Edwards, 1893 Mesogiornis Mlíkovský, 2002

Aegialornis^[1] is a genus of prehistoric apodiform bird. It formed a distinct family Aegialornithidae and was in some ways intermediate between modern swifts and owlet-nightjars, lacking the more extreme adaptations to an aerial lifestyle that swifts show today, but already having sickle-shaped wings like them. They do not appear to be a direct ancestor of modern swifts, however, but rather a group that retained an overall basal morphology. Altogether, they were not too dissimilar to modern treeswifts. In scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names used for a single taxon. ... Alphonse Milne-Edwards (October 13, 1835 _ April 21, 1900) was a French ornithologist. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... Families Apodidae Hemiprocnidae Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three families: the swifts, Apodidae, the tree swifts, Hemiprocnidae, and the hummingbirds, Trochilidae. ... “Aves” redirects here. ... In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is 1) a rank or 2) a taxon in that rank. ... Genera Many; see text. ... † see also: Hummingbird Swift The tree swifts or crested swifts are aerial near passerine birds, closely related to the true swifts. ...

Fossils of Aegialornis have been found in Middle to Late Eocene deposits of Germany and France. An Early Eocene record from North America is very doubtful, as apodiform birds seem not to have occurreed there until after the Eocene. The taxonomy of the species is quite convoluted, with both the smaller A. germanicus and the larger A. leenhardti being sometimes considered junior synonyms of A. gallicus, which in turn is sometimes erroneously assumed to be identical to Cypselavus gallicus. Similarly, A. broweri is occasionally considered to be based on small individuals of A. wetmorei, and these latter two taxa were recently separated as genus Mesogiornis (Mlíkovský, 2002); this does not appear to have found general acceptance however. The presumed species Aegialornis szarskii is now placed in Scaniacypselus. hfajhfiudshfas == == == --24. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... In zoological nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names that pertain to the same taxon, for example two names for the same species. ...

It is not quite certain which genera apart from the present one should be included in the Aegialornithidae. Primapus belongs either here or is a basal true swift, and Cypselavus is either an aegialornithid or a treeswift. The latter group is sometimes controversially included in the Aegialornithidae, as are the Jungornithidae, another prehistoric apodiform family that was somewhat intermediate between treeswifts and hummingbirds.

References

• Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002): Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press, Prague. PDF fulltext. ISBN 80-901105-3-8

Footnotes

1. ^ Etymology: Aegialornis, "beach bird", from Ancient Greek aegial-, "beach" + ornis, "bird". The first bones were recovered from sediments of a former lagoon at Quercy, France.