Intiornis

sun bird

• Inti · Quechua · sun
• ornis · Greek · bird

The name combines "Inti", the Quechua word for the sun (and the Inca sun god), with the Greek "ornis", meaning bird. It refers to the fossil's discovery in northwestern Argentina, in the Andean region where Quechua-derived culture is part of the heritage. The species name, inexpectatus, refers to the unexpected discovery of this bird.

Named by

Novas, Agnolín and Scanferla

Year named

2010

Period

Late Cretaceous

Found in

Los Blanquitos Formation, Salta Province, northwestern Argentina

Intiornis is an enantiornithine bird (an extinct group of early birds), so it counts as a dinosaur in the cladistic sense but is not a non-avian dinosaur. It is known from very fragmentary remains. The type species is Intiornis inexpectatus. Exact stage and some details are not given here because I am not certain of them.