Alcmonavis

Altmühl bird

• Alcmona · Latin · the Altmühl River (Bavaria, Germany)
• avis · Latin · bird

The name combines "Alcmona", the Latin name for the Altmühl River in Bavaria, with the Latin word "avis", meaning bird. It means "Altmühl bird" and refers to the region of southern Germany where the fossil was found. The only known species is Alcmonavis poeschli, named for Roland Pöschl, who discovered the specimen.

Named by

Rauhut, Tischlinger and Foth

Year named

2019

Period

Late Jurassic

Stage

Tithonian

Found in

Mörnsheim Formation, near Eichstätt, Bavaria, Germany

A feathered, bird-like avialan theropod, closely related to Archaeopteryx. It is known from a partial skeleton, including a wing. It has well-developed flight features, such as a larger deltopectoral crest on the humerus than Archaeopteryx has. Birds are living dinosaurs, so avialans like this one count as dinosaurs.