Gobipteryx

Name: Gobipteryx.
Phonetic: Go-bip-teh-riks.
Named By: Andrzej Elzanowski‭ ‬-‭ ‬1974.
Synonyms: Nanantius.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurichia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Enantiornithes,‭ ‬Euenantiornithes,‭ ‬Gobipterygidae.
Species: G.‭ ‬minuta‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Uncertain,‭ ‬but possibly a carnivore and/or insectivore.
Size: Skull about‭ ‬4.5‭ ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: Mongolia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Barun Goyot Formation,‭ ‬Djadokhta Formation,‭ ‬Nemegt Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial remains of a few individuals,‭ ‬including embryos.

       Gobipteryx is a genus of enantiornithine that lived in Mongolia during the late Cretaceous.‭ ‬Studies of Gobipteryx show that Gobipteryx would have been capable of flight soon after hatching out from the egg.‭ ‬This would have given‭ ‬Gobipteryx a significant survival advantage in a world heavily populated by small theropod dinosaurs.‭ ‬Studies of the wings and muscle attachment points show that Gobipteryx would have easily been capable of powered flapping flight.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Preliminary note on the palaeognathous bird from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Palaeontologia Polonica‭ ‬29:103-109.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Andrzej Elzanowski‭ ‬-‭ ‬1974.
- Skulls of Gobipteryx (Aves) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. - Palaeontologia Polonica 37 p. 153-166. - A. Elżanowski - 1977.



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