Antarcticavis

Antarctic bird

• Antarctica · Latinised Greek · Antarctica, the southern polar continent
• avis · Latin · bird

The name combines "Antarctica", the continent where the fossil was found, with the Latin "avis", meaning bird. It means "Antarctic bird". It was chosen because the type specimen, a partial skeleton including parts of the jaw, is one of the few Cretaceous birds known from Antarctica. The only named species is Antarcticavis capelambensis, and its species name refers to Cape Lamb, where it was found.

Named by

Cordes-Person et al.

Year named

2020

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Maastrichtian

Found in

Cape Lamb, Vega Island, Antarctica (Snow Hill Island Formation)

A Late Cretaceous bird, so an avian dinosaur. Its exact position within birds is debated. Details such as the formation and the year are given from memory and are worth checking against the original description.