genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
. It is known from the
Messel pit
The Messel pit (german: Grube Messel) is a disused quarry near the village of Messel (Landkreis Darmstadt-Dieburg, Hesse) about southeast of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Bituminous shale was mined there. Because of its abundance of well-preserved ...
of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, which dates to the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
.Peters, D.S. (1994) ''Messelastur gratulator'' n. gen. n. spec., ein Greifvogel as der Grube Messel (Aves: Accipitridae). ''Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg'', 170:3-9G. Mayr. 2011. Well-preserved new skeleton of the Middle Eocene Messelastur substantiates sister group relationship between Messelasturidae and
Halcyornithidae
Halcyornithidae or Pseudasturidae is a family of fossil birds, possibly belonging to the order Psittaciformes (parrots and relatives). Members of this family lived in the Eocene, around 55-48 million years ago. Fossil remains are known from the ...