Horusornis is a prehistoric bird of prey that has been assigned to Accipitriformes. Its name means "Horus-bird", after the Egyptian god Horus who was sometimes depicted as a falcon.
| Horusornis Temporal range: Late Eocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | †Horusornithidae Mourer-Chauviré, 1991 |
| Genus: | †Horusornis Mourer-Chauviré, 1991 |
| Species: | †H. vianeyliaudae |
| Binomial name | |
| †Horusornis vianeyliaudae Mourer-Chauviré, 1991 | |
Horusornis vianeyliaudae is the only known species. It lived approximately at the end of the Eocene, some 35 mya in what today is France. Its fossils were found in Quercy.
References
- Mourer-Chauviré, C. (1991) Les horusornithidae nov. fam., accipitriformes (Aves) a articulation intertarsienne hyperflexible de l'éocene du Quercy. Geobios, 24:183-192