#lutetodontopteryx

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Lutetodontopteryx tethyensis

By Jack Wood on @thewoodparable

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Name: Lutetodontopteryx tethyensis

Status: Extinct

First Described: 2012

Described By: Mayr & Zvonok

Classification: Dinosauria, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Pelagornithidae  

Guest post by @raptorcivilization​!

Lutetodontopteryx is a Pelagornithid known from the Ikovo sand quarry in eastern Ukraine, found in near-shore sediments dating to the middle Eocene (early Lutetian age), roughly 48 million years ago. Despite being so early, it’s thought to be the closest relative of later, larger Neogene Pelagornithids. Originally thought to be a specimen of Dasornis/Odontopteryx, the fossil was described and named only in 2012. It’s a fairly small Pelagornithid. A good portion of the skeleton is represented, including the characteristic pseudotoothed beak. The pseudoteeth are long, narrow, and backward-curved. The form of the pseudoteeth implies that Pelagornithid pseudoteeth might be homologous on some molecular level to actual teeth. Well then. It lived alongside the early loon Colymbiculus and a much larger Pelagornithid which resembles Gigantornis.

Source:

Mayr, G., Zvonok, E. 2012. A new genus and species of Pelagornithidae with well-preserved pseudodentition and further avian remains from the middle Eocene of the Ukraine. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32(4): 914-925.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

So 

I broke my glasses 

and I’m basically blind 

so

in an unprecedented situation

I can’t write today’s dinosaur

So

@raptorcivilization will be writing Lutetodontopteryx for me

Hopefully by tomorrow I’ll have fixed them enough to write Pelagornis 

Thanks for everyone’s understanding

~ Meig