Asteriornis
Asteriornis ("Asteria's bird") is an extinct genus of bird from the Late Cretaceous of Belgium which is known from a single species, Asteriornis maastrichtensis. It was closely related to birds of the extant superorder Galloanserae such as chickens and ducks. Members of the genus were small, long-legged birds (~394 g) that lived near the coastline and co-existed with more "primitive" types of birds such as "Ichthyornis. Asteriornis" is one of the oldest-known birds irrefutably belonging to the group Neornithes, which encompasses all modern birds. It possesses characteristics of both galliformes (chicken-like birds) and anseriformes (duck-like birds), indicating its position as a close relative of the last common ancestor for both groups.

"Asteriornis" may shed light on why Neornithes were the only dinosaurs to survive the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Its coexistence with non-neornithean birds such as "Ichthyornis" implies that competition was not a primary factor for the extinction of non-neornitheans, which resembled modern birds in most respects but died out with other non-avian dinosaurs. Small size, a terrestrial lifestyle, and a generalist diet have all been inferred as ecological advantages possessed by early neornithes, allowing them to survive and diversify in the wake of the extinction. "Asteriornis" fulfills these qualities, suggesting that such suspicions were justified. "Asteriornis" is also evidence against a different hypothesis stating that modern birds originated from southern continents. This was supported by observations on modern bird diversity and the discovery of "Vegavis" (a possible neornithean from Antarctica), but "Asteriornis"'s presence in Europe suggests that modern birds may have been widespread in northern continents in their early evolution.
Q18642285
Asteria's
MISC
Q34740
genus
Concept
Q5113
bird
Concept
Q338199
Late Cretaceous
TIME
Q31
Belgium
LOC
Q7432
species
Concept
Q853058
Galloanserae
Concept
Q132820
Ichthyornis
Concept
Q5113
Neornithes
Concept
Q21659
galliformes
Concept
Q21651
anseriformes
Concept
Q1052390
last common ancestor
Concept
Q430
dinosaurs
Concept
Q55811
Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event
Concept
Q2319226
Vegavis
Concept
Q87946388
Asteriornis
MISC
Q87946388
Asteriornis
MISC
Q87946388
Asteriornis
MISC
Q87946388
Asteriornis
MISC
Q87946388
Asteriornis
MISC
Q87946388
Asteriornis
MISC
Q87946388
Asteriornis
MISC
+394^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
394
NUMBER
taxon rank
taxon rank