Messelirrisor Temporal range: Middle Eocene,
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Fossil of Messelirrisor halcyrostris | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Bucerotiformes |
Family: | †Messelirrisoridae Mayr, 1998 |
Genus: | †Messelirrisor Mayr, 1998 |
Type species | |
Messelirrisor halcyrostris Mayr, 1998
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Other species | |
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The extinct Messelirrisor is a genus of Bucerotiformes, the sole representative of the family Messelirrisoridae. They were tiny hoopoe-like birds that were the earliest representatives of the hoopoe/wood-hoopoe lineage, and they were among the predominant small forest birds of Central Europe during the Middle Eocene (some 49-37 mya). Fossilized remains of Messelirrisor have been found in the Messel Pit of Hesse, Germany.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Messelirrisor_restoration.jpeg/220px-Messelirrisor_restoration.jpeg)
Sources
[edit]- Mayr, Gerald (1 October 2000). "Tiny Hoopoe-Like Birds From the Middle Eocene of Messel (Germany)". The Auk. 117 (4): 964–970. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2000)117[0964:THLBFT]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 4089635. INIST 1528405.
External links
[edit]- Specimen photo. Retrieved 2007-AUG-22.