Eurolimnornis

European marsh bird

• Euro- · Greek/Latin · Europe / European
• limno- · Greek · marsh, lake
• ornis · Greek · bird

The name combines "Euro-" (referring to Europe, where the fossil was found), the Greek "limne" (λίμνη, meaning lake or marsh), and the Greek "ornis" (ὄρνις, meaning bird). The name thus translates roughly as "European marsh bird" or "European lake bird." It was applied to reflect both the geographic origin of the fossil and the presumed semi-aquatic or wetland habitat of the animal.

Named by

Grigorescu and Hartenberger

Year named

1984

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Maastrichtian

Found in

Romania

Eurolimnornis is not a dinosaur in the strict sense — it is a Mesozoic bird (avian theropod). It is known only from a fragmentary tibiotarsus recovered from the Maastrichtian of Romania (Hateg Basin). The material is too incomplete to confidently assign it to a well-defined group, and it is widely regarded as a nomen dubium. Some researchers have questioned whether the fragment is even avian.