Noguerornis

Noguera bird

• Noguera · Catalan (place name) · the Noguera region of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain
• ornis · Greek · bird

The name combines "Noguera", the Catalan district (La Noguera, in Lleida province) where the fossil was found, with the Greek word for "bird". It literally refers to the bird from the Noguera region. The only named species is Noguerornis gonzalezi.

Named by

Lacasa Ruiz

Year named

1989

Period

Early Cretaceous

Found in

Montsec area, Lleida Province, Catalonia, Spain

A primitive Early Cretaceous bird (an avialan, so technically a dinosaur in the modern sense), known from a single, partial skeleton with feather impressions. Its exact placement within early birds has been debated; it has often been considered a basal member of the Ornithothoraces/enantiornithine line. The exact stage of the fossil is not given here because I am not certain of it.