Horusornis
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (October 2011) |
| Horusornis Temporal range: Late Eocene
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | †Horusornithidae Mourer-Chauviré, 1991 |
| Genus: | †Horusornis Mourer-Chauviré, 1991 |
| Species: | †H. vianeyliaudae
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| Binomial name | |
| †Horusornis vianeyliaudae Mourer-Chauviré, 1991
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The Horusornithidae are a prehistoric family of birds of prey. They are part of the Accipitriformes. Their name means "Horus-birds": the Egyptian god Horus was sometimes depicted as a falcon.
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.
The relationships between falcons and other birds of prey (such as hawks and eagles) are not resolved to satisfaction. Horusornis may have been a "missing link" uniting falcons, hawks, and the secretarybird. If falcons are more distantly related to other birds of prey, the horusornithids would rather be basal relatives of hawks that somewhat resembled falcons due to convergent evolution.
References
- Haaramo, Mikko (2005): Mikko's Phylogeny Archive: Accipitridae. Version of 2005-NOV-15. Retrieved 2007-MAY-17.
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