Pumiliornis

Pumiliornis tessellatus is an ancient bird from the Middle Eocene of Messel, Hesse, Germany. It is described as a wren-sized[1] anisodactyl bird with a long, slender bill and strong hallux. Its species name tessellatus, meaning "mosaic" in Latin, is a reference to its unusual distribution of characters and uncertain phylogenetic placement.[2][3] It has some anatomical affinities with Cuculiformes, but similar fossils that might be related to this taxon do not.[4]

Pumiliornis tessellatus
Temporal range: Middle Eocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Subclass:
incertae sedis
Genus:
Pumiliornis

G. Mayr, 1999
Species:
P. tessellatus
Binomial name
Pumiliornis tessellatus
G.Mayr 1999

In 2014, a new specimen of Pumiliornis was described that showed preserved stomach contents of pollen grains from a eudicotyledonous angiosperm, making it the earliest fossil evidence of flower-visiting behavior in birds.[5]

References
  1. Mayr, Gerald (2008). "Pumiliornis tessellatus MAYR, 1999 revisited - new data on the osteology and possible phylogenetic affinities of an enigmatic Middle Eocene bird". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 82/3: 247–253. doi:10.1007/BF02988891.
  2. Mayr, Gerald (1999). "Pumiliornis tessellatus n. gen. n. sp., a new enigmatic bird from the Middle Eocene of Grube Messel (Hessen, Germany)" (PDF). Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg. 216: 75–83.
  3. Mayr, Gerald (2009). Paleogene Birds. Springer. pp. 114–116. ISBN 978-3540896272.
  4. Mayr, Gerald (2009). Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 115. ISBN 9783540896289.
  5. Mayr, Gerald; Wilde, Volker (2014). "Eocene fossil is earliest evidence of flower-visiting by birds". Biology Letters. 10 (5): 20140223. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0223. PMC 4046380. PMID 24872461.
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