Vegavis iaai
Vegavis is a genus of extinct bird that lived in Antarctica during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. The type species is Vegavis iaai, named in 2005 based on fossils from the López de Bertodano Formation. Two additional species, Vegavis geitononesos and Vegavis notopothousa, were named in 2026 based on additional material from the same formation. Vegavis potentially represents one of the earliest known crown group birds. The definitive taxonomic position of Vegavis has been a subject of debate among paleontologists for over two decades since its initial description as a member of
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7 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Classification
- Paleobiology
- Paleoenvironment
- See also
- References
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Vegavis is a genus of extinct bird that lived in Antarctica during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. The type species is Vegavis iaai, named in 2005 based on fossils from the López de Bertodano Formation. Two additional species, Vegavis geitononesos and Vegavis notopothousa, were named in 2026 based on additional material from the same formation. Vegavis potentially represents one of the earliest known crown group birds. The definitive taxonomic position of Vegavis has been a subject of debate among paleontologists for over two decades since its initial description as a member of Anseriformes within Galloanserae.
== Taxonomy == thumb|left|Rotating virtual reconstruction of the skull of V. geitononesos The genus name, Vegavis, is a combination of the name of Vega Island and "avis", the Latin word for bird, while the species name, "iaai", is after the acronym for Instituto Antartico Argentino (IAA), the Argentine scientific expedition to Antarctica. The holotype is held by the Museo de La Plata, Argentina. The specimen, cataloged as MLP 93-I-3-1, was found in 1993 from the López de Bertodano Formation at Cape Lamb on Vega Island, Antarctica, and was first thought to be an indeterminate presbyornithid. It was only described as a new species in 2005, because it consists of the very delicate remains of one bird embedded in a concretion, which had to be meticulously prepared for study. CT scans were utilized to gain a clearer picture of the bone structure without running danger of damaging or destroying the fossil.