Geo(Im)pulse Bird remains from the Maastrichtian type area (Late Cretaceous)

摘要

Remains of Late Cretaceous birds are rare, which is especially true for Europe and the type area of the Maastrichtian Stage (southeast Netherlands,northeast Belgium) in particular. In the present paper, we record new remains (isolated tarsometatarsus and radius) that document the presenceof both enantiornithine and ornithurine birds in the Maastrichtian area. These fossils, although fragmentary, are important in view of theirstratigraphic age: all bird remains discovered to date in the Maastricht area are amongst the youngest 'non-modern' avians known, originatingfrom strata deposited less than 500,000 years prior to the end of the Cretaceous Period.