Halimornis fossil map
Where fossils of Halimornis 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 |
| Family | Avisauridae |
| Named by | Chiappe et al. 2002 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | Mooreville Chalk |
About Halimornis
Halimornis was an enantiornithean bird. It lived during the Late Cretaceous about 80 mya and is known from fossils found in the Mooreville Chalk Formation in Greene County, Alabama. It is known from a single fossil individual, including preserved vertebrae, leg bones and part of the humerus (upper arm bone).
At the time, the area where the Mooreville Chalk was deposited was situated on the southern coast of the Western Interior Seaway, and may have been the site of a large delta where several major rivers flowed into the shallow sea. The fossil bird was found at a location that would have been about 50 km off shore, indicating that it was an ocean-going species. The name Halimornis means "bird of the sea". It would have lived alongside the more advanced seabird Ichthyornis dispar. It is one of the few known enantiornithine birds to have lived in a marine environment, along with the Australian Nanantius eos, the slightly younger Martinavis and "Ichthyornis" minusculus, which was originally misidentified as Ichthyornis based on its presence in marine deposits.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Halimornis (revision 1379689241), 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: Q5642352.
