? Hesperornithiformes Fossil range: Cretaceous
Hesperornis regalis skeleton
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Hesperornithiformes Fürbringer, 1888
Families
Hesperornithidae

Hesperornithiformes are an extinct and highly specialized order of Cretaceous toothed birds. They are also the only known marine dinosaurs of the Mesozoic. Hesperornithiforms include Hesperornis, Parahesperornis, Baptornis, Enaliornis, and probably Potamornis. Cretaceous period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic period, about 146 million years ago (Ma), to the beginning of the Paleocene epoch of the Tertiary period (65. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1829x936, 1284 KB) Hesperornis regalis skeleton at the Smithsonian museum of Natural History File links The following pages link to this file: Hesperornithiformes Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas 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... Orders Many - see section below. ... Max Fürbringer (1846–1920) was a German anatomist. ... 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... Cretaceous period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic period, about 146 million years ago (Ma), to the beginning of the Paleocene epoch of the Tertiary period (65. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ... The Mesozoic is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. ...

Although some of the smaller species might have been able to fly, Hesperornis and Baptornis had only vestigial wings. Like living foot-propelled diving birds, the femur and metatarsus are short whereas the tibia was long. The legs were also sprawling and set far back on the body, as in loons and grebes. Hesperornithiformes must have been powerful swimmers but ungainly on the land, and probably spent little time ashore except to nest; some think that on land they had to slide on their bellies and push with their legs. The joints of the toes resemble those of grebes, suggesting that the foot bore a series of lobes rather than a single web. The dense bones of these birds decreased their buoyancy, making diving easier. The beak was long and bore a series of simple, sharp teeth, and probably functioned to seize fish, as in the serrated beak of mergansers. Species Gavia stellata Gavia arctica Gavia pacifica Gavia immer Gavia adamsii The loon (N.Am. ... Genera Podiceps Tachybaptus Podilymbus Aechmophorus Poliocephalus Rollandia Grebes are members of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter. ... Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus: one of the most abundant species of fish in the world. ... † For other related ducks, see also: Merginae Mergus is a genus of ducks in the seaduck subfamily Merginae. ...

The earliest known Hesperornithiform is the Early Cretaceous Enaliornis; the majority are known from the Late Cretaceous. Hesperornis has been found in Upper Cretaceous marine chalks from Kansas and in marine shales from Canada. Small hesperornithiform bones are known from the freshwater deposits of the Late Cretaceous of the Judith River Group as well as the Hell Creek and Lance Formations. These birds were about the size of a cormorant or a loon. Hesperornithiform birds were the only Mesozoic dinosaurs to colonize the oceans; (the aquatic reptiles of the time, such as the ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, were not dinosaurs). The Early Cretaceous (timestratigraphic name) or the Lower Cretaceous (logstratigraphic name), is the earlier of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous period. ... Geography of the US in the late Cretaceous Late Cretaceous (also called the Upper Cretaceous) refers to the second half of the Cretaceous period, named after the famous white chalk cliffs of southern England, which date from this time. ... Official language(s) None Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 15th 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² 211 mi; 340 km 400 mi; 645 km 0. ... Orders Saurischia    Sauropodomorpha    Theropoda Ornithischia Dinosaurs are giant reptiles that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for most of their 165-million year existence. ... Orders See text. ... Taxonomy See text Ichthyosaurs (Greek for fish lizards) were giant marine reptiles that resembled fish and dolphins (see convergent evolution). ... Families Cryptoclididae Elasmosauridae Plesiosauridae Pliosauridae Plesiosaurs (IPA ) (Greek: plesios, near to + sauros, lizard) were large, carnivorous aquatic reptiles. ...

The taxon was originally named Odontornithes by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1880. Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 - March 18, 1899) was one of the pre-eminent paleontologists of the 19th century, who discovered and named many fossils found in the American West. ...

The largest known hesperornithiform, described in 1999 and named Canadaga arctica, may have reached a maximum adult length of over 1.5 meters (five feet). 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

Artist's conception

Hesperornis regalis

This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Image File history File links Hesperornis_Regalis_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16474. ... Image File history File links Hesperornis_Regalis_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16474. ...

Taxonomy

The following classification follows Marsh (1880), Feduccia (1996), Tokaryk, Cumbaa & Storer (1997), and Galton & Martin (2002), and is modified from [1].

• Class Aves
  • Order HESPERORNITHIFORMES
    • Potamornis skutchi
    • Family Enaliornithidae
      • Enaliornis barretti
      • Enaliornis sedgwicki
    • Family Baptornithidae (paraphyletic)
      • Pasquiaornis hardiei
      • Pasquiaornis tankei
      • Judinornis nogontsavensis
      • Baptornis advenus
    • Family Hesperornithidae
      • Coniornis altus
      • Canadaga arctica
      • Asiahesperornis bazhanovi
      •  ?Parascaniornis stenisoei
      • Parahesperornis alexi
      • Hesperornis regalis
      • Hesperornis rossicus

For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Paraphyletic - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Families Hesperornithidae Hesperornithiformes are an extinct and highly specialized order of Cretaceous toothed birds. ... Families Hesperornithidae Hesperornithiformes are an extinct and highly specialized order of Cretaceous toothed birds. ...

External links

• Introduction to the Hesperornithiformes