Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
497 / Cenozoic
Dasornis
Dasornis emuinus
A near-six-meter wingspan and bony pseudoteeth armed a giant seabird.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 54–50 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Eocene
- Geographic range
- Warm coast and open ocean · Britain
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Dasornis?
Dasornis (Dasornis emuinus) was an extinct organism known from About 54–50 million years ago, with a range in Warm coast and open ocean · Britain.
Life and ecology
Long wings carried it over the sea while projections along the beak gripped fish and squid.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Dasornis disappear?
Later Eocene changes in ocean circulation, prey and seabird communities are possible context; a specific cause is not established.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Dasornis?
London Clay skull, beak and limb bones preserve pseudoteeth; plumage and full wing shape follow relatives.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS