Asteriornis

Asteriornis is an extinct bird genus from Late Cretaceous Belgium, represented by Asteriornis maastrichtensis. Its fossils provide evidence that birds related to modern landfowl and waterfowl existed before the end-Cretaceous extinction.

Asteriornis maastrichtensis: The sole known species of Asteriornis, described from Late Cretaceous fossils found in Belgium. This species is the fossil evidence behind the genus and its placement among early modern-bird relatives.
Crown group: The last common ancestor of living members of a group and all its descendants. Asteriornis is notable as a candidate close to the crown group of modern birds.
Late Cretaceous: The final epoch of the Cretaceous Period, lasting from about 100.5 to 66 million years ago. Asteriornis lived near the end of this epoch.
Ichthyornis: An extinct toothed seabird from the Late Cretaceous of North America, known from fossils including a birdlike skull. Its more specialized marine anatomy contrasts with Asteriornis's inferred affinities to living landfowl and waterfowl.
Wonderchicken: Asteriornis maastrichtensis's informal nickname, coined after its discovery and popularized in reports of the fossil. The nickname became a widely used shorthand for the Asteriornis fossil.
Neornithes: The clade containing all living birds and their descendants from their most recent common ancestor. This is the modern-bird group to which Asteriornis has been compared.
Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event: The mass extinction about 66 million years ago that eliminated non-avian dinosaurs and many other organisms. Asteriornis lived shortly before the extinction that reshaped bird evolution.
Hesperornithes: An extinct group of large, flightless aquatic birds from the Cretaceous. These Cretaceous birds provide a contrasting example of specialized avian evolution before the extinction.
Asteriornis skull: The well-preserved skull of Asteriornis maastrichtensis, which retains features useful for comparing it with living birds. Its anatomy underpins the genus's proposed affinities with modern bird groups.
Avialae: The dinosaur clade containing birds and their closest extinct relatives. Asteriornis belongs within the broader evolutionary history of avialans.

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