Tingmiatornis

bird of those that fly

• tingmiat · Inuktitut · those that fly
• ornis · Greek · bird

The name combines the Inuktitut word "tingmiat", meaning "those that fly", with the Greek "ornis", meaning "bird". It honours the Arctic setting of the find, Axel Heiberg Island in Nunavut, and the fact that this was a bird. The only named species is T. arctica.

Named by

Bono et al.

Year named

2016

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Turonian

Found in

Strand Fiord Formation, Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada

Tingmiatornis is a fossil bird, a diving ornithurine related to the hesperornithines and ichthyornithines. Birds are technically avian dinosaurs, but it is not a "non-avian" dinosaur in the popular sense. It is notable as evidence of diving birds living in the warm Arctic during the Cretaceous. The exact stage and age are given with moderate confidence.