Castignovolucris


Castignovolucris is an extinct genus of enantornithe bird from the Late Cretaceous "continental red clays" of the Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation of France. It contains a single species, C. sebei, which was named and described in 2023.

Discovery and naming

The holotype, MC-VCZ2-6, a right coracoid, was discovered sometime around the 1990s near Villespassans by Stéphane Sèbe and was donated to the Musée de Cruzy.
Castignovolucris sebei was named and described by Buffetaut, Angst & Tong.

Description

Castignovolucris was estimated to have a wingspan of around and may have been long when fully grown, making it one of the largest known enantiornitheans to date.

Paleobiology

Castignovolucris would have been found on the Ibero-Armorican island in what is today Occitania, France.