Enantiornis

opposite bird

• enantios · Greek · opposite
• ornis · Greek · bird

The name combines the Greek words for "opposite" and "bird". It refers to the way the shoulder bones are joined. The scapula and coracoid meet in a socket-and-ball arrangement that is the reverse of the one in modern birds. This feature later gave the whole group, the Enantiornithes or "opposite birds", its name.

Named by

Walker

Year named

1981

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Maastrichtian

Found in

Lecho Formation, Salta Province, Argentina

Enantiornis is an early bird, a member of the Enantiornithes. These are avialan theropod dinosaurs, so it is a dinosaur only in the sense that birds are dinosaurs. It is not a non-avian dinosaur. The type species is E. leali. It was one of the largest known enantiornithines.