Ichthyornithidae
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Sauropsida
- Order: Ichthyornithiformes
- Family: Ichthyornithidae
Overview
Ichthyornithidae Marsh, 1873
Common Name: 'Fish bird'
Extant/Extinct
Key morphological features: The Ichthyornithidae were toothed sea birds of the Late Cretaceous. Although they have no modern relatives, it is thought that they resembled modern terns or gulls in water-based feeding and possibly migrating capabilities.
SIZE: ~25cm
Paleoecology:
MOBILITY: Mobile (fly, swim)
FEEDING MODE: Predator of small fish
HABITAT: epifaunal
Sources:
Everhart, M. J., 2005. Oceans of Kansas: A Natural History of the Western Interior Sea. Indiana University Press, Bloomington. 322 pp.