Sulcavis
| Sulcavis Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
| Fossil skull | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Avialae |
| Clade: | †Enantiornithes |
| Family: | †Bohaiornithidae |
| Genus: | †Sulcavis O’Connor et al., 2013 |
| Type species | |
| †Sulcavis geeorum O’Connor et al., 2013 | |
Sulcavis is a genus of enantiornithean birds. One species is named, Sulcavis geeorum. The fossil was found in Early Cretaceous (121-125 million years ago) rocks in Liaoning Province, China.
Sulcavis is the first discovery of a bird with ornamented tooth enamel. The enantiornitheans are unique among birds in showing minimal tooth reduction and a diversity of dental patterns. Sulcavis had robust teeth with grooves on the inside surface, which likely strengthened the teeth against harder food items. No previous bird species have preserved ridges, striations, serrated edges, or any other form of dental ornamentation.