Elsornis fossil map
Where fossils of Elsornis have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 75 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 75 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 | Theropods |
|---|---|
| Lived | 83.6–72.2 million years ago (Campanian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Named by | Chiappe et al. 2007 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Mongolia |
| Rock formations | Djadokhta |
About Elsornis
Elsornis is a genus of enantiornithean bird. Only one species has been named, Elsornis keni. It lived during the Late Cretaceous. It is known from a partially articulated fossil skeleton found in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.
The holotype fossil has been given the catalogue number MPD - b 100/201. It is in the collection of the Mongolian Palaeontological Center. The fossil was collected at Togrogiin Shiree, South Gobi Aimak, Mongolia; Djadokhta Formation, Late Cretaceous, Campanian.
The fossil is extremely well preserved in three dimensions. It preserves a pneumatized Furcula, which was a character previously unknown in enantiornitheans. Chiappe et al. (2007) conclude from the proportions of Elsornis ' pectoral skeleton that it was flightless or nearly so. It may have glided like Archaeopteryx, climbing in trees to pounce on its prey on the ground. However, if this is not the case, it may have hunted on the ground, snatching up small vertebrates and bugs. Like the other members of Avisauridae, it probably had small non-serrated teeth it used for hunting, and possibly scavenged the carcasses left by other, more formidable carnivores.
A study by Atterholt et al. in 2018 places Elsornis in the family Avisauridae.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Elsornis (revision 1313936067), 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: Q5367712.
