Vorona

bird

• vorona · Malagasy · bird

Vorona comes from the Malagasy word for "bird". It was chosen because the fossils come from Madagascar and belong to an early bird. The only species, Vorona berivotrensis, is named after Berivotra, the area in Madagascar where it was found.

Named by

Forster et al.

Year named

1996

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Maastrichtian

Found in

Maevarano Formation, Mahajanga Basin, northwestern Madagascar

Vorona is an early bird (an avialan, a member of the group Aves), so it counts as a dinosaur in the modern sense but not as a non-avian dinosaur. It is known from fragmentary remains, and its exact position within early birds has been debated.