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HESPERORNIS
(hess-per-or-niss)
meaning: "Western bird"
Hesperornis
Named By: Othniel Charles Marsh in 1872
Time Period: Late Cretaceous, 83.5-78 Ma
Location: Canada, Russia, Sweden, USA
Size: Up to 1.8 meters long for the largest species
Diet: unavailable
Fossil(s): Numerous remains representing multiple species
Classification: | Chordata | Aves | Hesperornithiformes | Hesperornithidae |
Also known as: | Conirnis | Hargeria | Lestornis |
About

Hesperornis (meaning "western bird") is a genus of flightless aquatic birds that spanned the first half of the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period (83.5-78 mya). One of the lesser-known discoveries of the paleontologist O. C. Marsh in the late 19th century Bone Wars, it was an early find in the history of avian paleontology. Locations for Hesperornis fossils include the Late Cretaceous marine limestones from Kansas and the marine shales from Canada. Nine species are recognised, eight of which have been recovered from rocks in North America and one from Russia.

Read more about Hesperornis at Wikipedia
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