Mirusavis
{{Short description|Extinct genus of birds}}
{{One source|date=March 2021}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Mirusavis
| fossil_range = Early Cretaceous
| image = Mirusavis parvus.jpg
| image_caption = Photograph and interpretive drawing of holotype specimen
| parent_authority = Wang et al., 2020
| genus = Mirusavis
| species = parvus
| authority = Wang et al., 2020
}}
Mirusavis is a genus of Enantiornithes from the early Cretaceous (Aptian – Barremian) of China recovered in the Yixian Formation. It contains a single species, Mirusavis parvus.
Etymology
The genus name Mirusavis comes from the Latin words {{lang|la|mirus}} (unexpected) and words {{lang|la|avis}} (bird), in reference to the unusual discovery of the holotype preserved during the laying cycle. The species name words {{lang|la|parvus}} means "small" in Latin.
Classification
Wang et al. (2020) recovered Mirusavis to be closest related to Shangyang graciles.
Paleobiology
The type and only specimen of Mirusavis was a partial subadult skeleton identified by the lack of ossification that would be seen in a mature individual. Medullary bone tissue was also recovered in the specimen, meaning that the fossil was a female that died during the egg-laying cycle. This find shows that Enantiornithes were unlike modern day birds in that they became reproductively active before completing the ossification of their skeleton.{{Cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=Min|last2=O’Connor|first2=Jingmai K.|last3=Bailleul|first3=Alida M.|last4=Li|first4=Zhiheng|date=1 June 2020|title=Evolution and distribution of medullary bone: evidence from a new Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird|url=https://academic.oup.com/nsr/article/7/6/1068/5681418|journal=National Science Review|language=en|volume=7|issue=6|pages=1068–1078|doi=10.1093/nsr/nwz214|pmid=34692126|pmc=8289052|issn=2095-5138|doi-access=free|access-date=29 March 2021|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806052315/https://academic.oup.com/nsr/article/7/6/1068/5681418|url-status=live}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Enantiornithes}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q80008743}}