Messelirrisor
| Messelirrisor Temporal range: Middle Eocene, | |
|---|---|
| Fossil of Messelirrisor halcyrostris | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Bucerotiformes |
| Family: | †Messelirrisoridae Mayr, 1998 |
| Genus: | †Messelirrisor Mayr, 1998 |
| Type species | |
| Messelirrisor halcyrostris Mayr, 1998 | |
| Other species | |
| |
The extinct Messelirrisor is a genus of Bucerotiformes, the sole representative of the family Messelirrisoridae. They were tiny hoopoe-like birds that were the earliest representatives of the hoopoe/wood-hoopoe lineage, and they were among the predominant small forest birds of Central Europe during the Middle Eocene (some 49-37 mya). Fossilized remains of Messelirrisor have been found in the Messel Pit of Hesse, Germany.