- Messelirrisor
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Messelirrisor
Temporal range: Middle Eocene
Messelirrisor halcyrostris Conservation status FossilScientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Coraciiformes Family: Messelirrisoridae
Mayr, 1998Genus: Messelirrisor
Mayr, 1998Species Messelirrisor grandis
Messelirrisor halcyrostris
Messelirrisor parvusThe extinct Messelirrisoridae are a family of Coraciiformes. Tiny hoopoe-like birds, they were among the predominant small forest birds of Central Europe during the Middle Eocene (some 49-37 mya).
Fossilized remains of the single known genus Messelirrisor have been found in the Messel Pit (Hesse, Germany). The Messelirrisoridae are the earliest representatives of the hoopoe/wood-hoopoe lineage known at present.
Sources
- Mayr, G. 2000. Tiny hoopoe-like birds from the Middle Eocene of Messel (Germany). The Auk 117(4):964-970
- http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1528405
External links
- Specimen photo. Retrieved 2007-AUG-22.
Categories:- Coraciiformes
- Eocene birds
- Prehistoric bird stubs
- Coraciiformes stubs
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