Eurotrochilus
Sign in to saveEurotrochilus is an extinct genus of stem group hummingbirds (Trochilidae) and are the closest known relatives of the crown group Trochilidae. Despite Eurotrochilus being morphologically very similar to modern hummingbirds, they still retained several primitive features and are not closely related to any specific extant hummingbird in the crown group. There are currently two described species of Eurotrochilus: E. inexpectatus and E. noniewiczi.
~14 min read
Encyclopedic overview
10 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Description and paleobiology
- Nectarivory adaptations
- Hovering flight adaptations
- Primitive features
- Discovery and classifications
- Geologic and paleoenvironment information
- Co-evolution of ornithophilous flowers and extinction
- References
- External links
Eurotrochilus is an extinct genus of stem group hummingbirds (Trochilidae) and are the closest known relatives of the crown group Trochilidae. Despite Eurotrochilus being morphologically very similar to modern hummingbirds, they still retained several primitive features and are not closely related to any specific extant hummingbird in the crown group. There are currently two described species of Eurotrochilus: E. inexpectatus and E. noniewiczi.
Eurotrochilus has been dated back to the Rupelian age of the early Oligocene era, which occurred during the Paleogene period. While there is some debate over exactly when Eurotrochilus was present, the most recent estimate is suggested to be 28 to 34 million years ago.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Eurotrochilus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.