Ceramornis

Ceramornis Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 65.5 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Genus:	†Ceramornis Brodkorb, 1963
Species:	†C. major
Binomial name
Ceramornis major Brodkorb, 1963

Ceramornis is a prehistoric bird genus from the Late Cretaceous. It lived shortly before the K-Pg mass extinction in the Maastrictian, some 65.5 million years ago (mya).^[1] Its remains were found in the Lull 2 location, a Lance Formation site in Niobrara County, Wyoming (USA). 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.^[2]

Its relationships are unresolved, mainly due to the paucity of material. While the material is not enough to be assessed by wide-scale cladistic analysis,^[3] it has been quantitatively compared to other avian coracoids. The bone looks decidedly neornithine, and most similar to Charadriiformes especially. It is not certain that this clade was already distinct by the Maastrichtian.^[1]

While it is sometimes considered a neornithine and specifically to belong to the waterfowl (Anseriformes), this is far from certain. Though waterfowl must have been around by the time it lived, a phylogenetic analysis could not find any particularly close relationship with the ancestors of modern birds, and thus A. celer cannot be classified at present with more certainty than placing it in the Carinatae incertae sedis.^[3]

Some have allied it with "Cimolopteryx" in the Cimolopterygidae. However, this seems a motley assemblage of plesiomorphic Neoaves (possibly basal Charadriiformes) or Neornithes rather than an evolutionary group.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Longrich, N. (2009). "An ornithurine-dominated avifauna from the Belly River Group (Campanian, Upper Cretaceous) of Alberta, Canada." Cretaceous Research, 30(1): 161-177.
2. ^ Berkeley Natural History Museums: Specimen Account: V53957 (Ceramornis major). Retrieved 2007-NOV-04.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Mortimer (2004)

Mortimer, Michael (2004): The Theropod Database: Phylogeny of taxa. Retrieved 2008-AUG-14.