Ceramornis fossil map
Where fossils of Ceramornis have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 66 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 66 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 | 72.2–66 million years ago (Maastrichtian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Cimolopterygidae |
| Named by | Brodkorb 1963 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | Lance |
About Ceramornis
Ceramornis is a genus of ornithuran dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous. It lived shortly before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event in the Maastrichtian, some 66 million years ago (mya). Its remains were found in the Lull 2 location, a Lance Formation site in Niobrara County, Wyoming. A single species is known, Ceramornis major, and even that only from a proximal piece of coracoid. This is specimen UCMP V53957, which was collected by a University of California team in 1958.
Ceramornis has been placed in the family Cimolopterygidae together with Cimolopteryx and Lamarqueavis. Cimolopterygidae has sometimes been placed in the modern bird order Charadriiformes, based on quantitative analysis of its coracoid and comparison with other modern bird samples. However, there remains some uncertainty about the taxonomic position, as there is insufficient fossil material to be assessed by wide-scale cladistic analysis.
It is not certain that Charadriiformes was already distinct by the Maastrichtian.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Ceramornis (revision 1379257122), 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: Q5063679.
