Messelirrisor
| Messelirrisor Temporal range: Middle Eocene,
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|---|---|
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| Fossil of Messelirrisor halcyrostris | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Bucerotiformes |
| Family: | †Messelirrisoridae Mayr, 1998 |
| Genus: | †Messelirrisor Mayr, 1998 |
| Type species | |
| Messelirrisor halcyrostris Mayr, 1998
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| Other species | |
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The extinct Messelirrisor is a genus of Bucerotiformes, the sole representative of the family Messelirisoridae. They were tiny hoopoe-like birds that were the earliest representatives of the hoopoe/wood-hoopoe lineage, and they were among the predominant small forest birds of Central Europe during the Middle Eocene (some 49-37 mya). Fossilized remains of Messelirrisor have been found in the Messel Pit of Hesse, Germany.
Sources
- Mayr, G. 2000. Tiny hoopoe-like birds from the Middle Eocene of Messel (Germany). The Auk 117(4):964-970
- http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1528405
External links
- Specimen photo. Retrieved 2007-AUG-22.
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