Hesperornis

western bird

• hesperos · Greek · western, of the evening
• ornis · Greek · bird

The name combines the Greek words for "western" and "bird". Othniel Charles Marsh chose it for the first fossils, which were found in the American West (Kansas). It refers to the fact that this was a "western bird", a flightless, toothed diving seabird.

Named by

Marsh

Year named

1872

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stages

Santonian – Campanian

Found in

Niobrara Formation, Kansas, USA (other material from western North America)

Hesperornis is a flightless, toothed, foot-propelled diving bird. It is not a non-avian dinosaur. It is an early avialan, and birds are technically living dinosaurs in the cladistic sense. It gives its name to the group Hesperornithes.