Horusornis is a prehistoric bird of prey that has been assigned to Accipitriformes. Its name means "Horus-bird", after the Egyptian god Horus who was sometimes depicted as a falcon.

Horusornis
Temporal range: Late Eocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Horusornithidae
Mourer-Chauviré, 1991
Genus: Horusornis
Mourer-Chauviré, 1991
Species:
H. vianeyliaudae
Binomial name
Horusornis vianeyliaudae
Mourer-Chauviré, 1991

Horusornis vianeyliaudae is the only known species. It lived approximately at the end of the Eocene, some 35 mya in what today is France. Its fossils were found in Quercy.

References

edit
  • Mourer-Chauviré, C. (1991) Les horusornithidae nov. fam., accipitriformes (Aves) a articulation intertarsienne hyperflexible de l'éocene du Quercy. Geobios, 24:183-192