Apatornis
ap-at-OR-nis /ˌæpətˈɔːrnɪs/
Accepted genus
deceptive bird
- apatē · Greek · deceit, deception
- ornis · Greek · bird
Apatornis combines the Greek words for "deceit" or "deception" and "bird". It was named by O. C. Marsh for a small toothed Cretaceous bird from Kansas. It is known from the type species Apatornis celer.
- Named by
- Marsh
- Year named
- 1873
- Period
- Late Cretaceous
- Stage
- Santonian
- Found in
- Niobrara Formation, Kansas, USA
Apatornis is a Cretaceous toothed bird related to Ichthyornis. Birds are avian dinosaurs, so it counts as a dinosaur in the broad (cladistic) sense. It is not a non-avian dinosaur.