Apatornis celer

†Apatornis celer was an early ornithurine bird of the Late Cretaceous, discovered in the Niobrara Chalk of Kansas, United States. A small carnivorous bird inhabiting the shallow Western Interior Seaway, it coexisted with the diving bird Hesperornis and the flying fish-eater Ichthyornis. Named by Marsh in 1873, it is known from fragmentary remains that document early diversity of marine birds.

Diet & Feeding

Carnivore

Apatornis celer was a meat-eating predator. Carnivorous dinosaurs were active hunters or scavengers, equipped with sharp teeth and claws for catching and consuming prey. They occupied the top of the food chain in their ecosystems.

Time Period

Cretaceous Late Mesozoic Era

Apatornis celer lived during the Cretaceous Late period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 100,5 to 66,0 million years ago.

The final age of dinosaurs, featuring iconic species like Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and Velociraptor. Dinosaurs reached their peak diversity before the catastrophic asteroid impact at the Chicxulub crater ended the Mesozoic Era.