Elbretornis
el-bret-OR-nis /ɛlˌbrɛtˈɔːrnɪs/
Accepted genus
El Brete bird
- El Brete · Spanish (place name) · locality in Salta Province, Argentina
- ornis · Greek · bird
Elbretornis is named after El Brete, the locality in Salta Province, northwestern Argentina, where the fossils were found. It is combined with the Greek word for "bird". The name therefore means "El Brete bird". It refers to an early, toothed enantiornithine bird.
- Named by
- Walker and Dyke
- Year named
- 2009
- Period
- Late Cretaceous
- Stage
- Maastrichtian
- Found in
- Lecho Formation, Salta Province, Argentina
Elbretornis is an enantiornithine bird. Birds are avian dinosaurs, so it counts as a dinosaur in the cladistic sense. The type species is Elbretornis bonapartei. The fossils were previously assigned to Enantiornis.