Ichthyornis

fish bird

• ichthys · Greek · fish
• ornis · Greek · bird

The name means "fish bird". Marsh chose it because the vertebrae were amphicoelous, meaning both ends were concave, as in fish vertebrae. This was an unusual trait for a bird. The animal was a tern-like seabird with a toothed beak.

Named by

Marsh

Year named

1872

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stages

Santonian – Campanian

Found in

Niobrara Formation (Smoky Hill Chalk), Kansas, USA. Other Late Cretaceous material is known from Alabama and Texas.

Ichthyornis is a toothed, early-branching bird of the Ornithuromorpha. Birds are living dinosaurs, so it counts as an avian dinosaur. It is not a non-avian dinosaur. The type species is Ichthyornis dispar. The stage range given is approximate and varies between sources.