Baptornis
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Baptornis advenus Marsh, 1877 |
Baptornis ('diving bird') is an extinct genus of primitive bird.
[edit] Anatomy
The 1 m (3 ft 4 in) long creature had lost the ability to fly, possessing only vestigal wings. Its legs were powerful and had long toes which were probably lobe-finned as in grebes or possibly webbed as in ducks, allowing the creature to swim, though the webs between this animal's toes were very long. Baptornis had teeth in its beak which allowed it to grab fish and other slippery prey. Its neck was unusually long, allowing a further reach. While it was probably an excellent swimmer, Baptornis is thought to have been clumsy on land, pushing itself along the rocks with its feet rather than actually walking, though this, again, is not yet verified. It pertained to the order Saurischia, though more specifically the order Aves. The Baptornis lived during the Cretaceous, approximately 82 millions years back. The fossils of the Baptornis were discoved in Kansas, where it swam in North America's inland seas. The Baptornis had its legs behind its body, suggesting that it was more inclined to spend its time in the water.
[edit] Fossils
Othniel Charles Marsh had discovered the fossils of this bird in the 1870's. This was, alongside the Archaeopteryx, one of the first Mesozoic birds to become known to science.
[edit] Relatives
Baptornis was related to the bigger, better known Hesperornis. Both species were likely under a constant threat from the Mosasaurs which shared the seas. Neither of these birds could fly or likely even move its wings very much, though Iberomesornis, another dinosaur-bird, could do it.
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