Judinornis fossil map
Where fossils of Judinornis 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 | Theropods |
|---|---|
| Lived | 72.2–66 million years ago (Maastrichtian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Baptornithidae |
| Named by | Nessov and Borkin 1983 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Mongolia |
| Rock formations | Beds of Nogon Tsav |
About Judinornis
Judinornis is a genus of prehistoric flightless birds from the late Cretaceous period. The single known species is Judinornis nogontsavensis. Its fossils have been found in Nemegt Formation rocks of southern Mongolia, and though the age of these deposits is not fully resolved, Judinornis probably lived some 70 million years ago during the early Maastrichtian.
The Nemegt Formation does not seem to contain marine sediments. Consequently, and unlike its relatives, this was apparently a bird of estuaries and rivers running from the mountains thrown up by the Cimmerian orogeny through the arid lands of continental East Asia towards the Turgai Sea and the former Shigatze Ocean.
Judinornis was a member of the Hesperornithes, flightless toothed seabirds of the Cretaceous. Though its relationships to other members of this group are inadequately known, it appears to have been one of the more basal hesperornithines.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Judinornis (revision 1289217039), 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: Q6303186.
