Aegialornis fossil map
Where fossils of Aegialornis have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 45 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 45 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Prehistoric birds |
|---|---|
| Lived | 41.03–37.71 million years ago (Bartonian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Aegialornithidae |
| Named by | Lydekker 1891 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | France |
| Rock formations | txn:39419 |
About Aegialornis
Aegialornis
is a genus of prehistoric apodiform birds. It formed a distinct family, the Aegialornithidae, and was in some ways intermediate between modern swifts and owlet-nightjars, lacking the more extreme adaptations to an aerial lifestyle that swifts show today, but already having sickle-shaped wings like them. They do not appear to be a direct ancestor of modern swifts, however, but rather a group that retained an overall basal morphology. Altogether, they were not too dissimilar from modern treeswifts.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Aegialornis (revision 1354829351), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q4135004.
