Cerebavis is a genus of bird that lived during the Middle Cenomanian (late Cretaceous) period, 99.6 - 93.5 Ma ago, and is known from a single brain mold found in the Melovatskaya Formation of Volgograd Region in Russia. Once considered most likely a member of the Enantiornithes, it is notable for its unusual brain, which displays some unusual features, including a well-developed olfactory system and large cerebrum, suggesting it had a well-developed sense of smell. Although fossils seldom preserve deep-brain soft anatomy, the brain of Cerebavis cenomanica may show a relatively large parietal eye and pineal gland.[1] In 2015, a reappraisal of the specimen concluded that it belonged to an ornithurine instead of an enantiornithean.[2] In 2021, a redescription of Borogovia found it to be a possible scansoriopterygid, which is recovered at the base of the non-avialan clade Oviraptorosauria.[3]
References[]
^Kurochkin, E. N.; Saveliev, S. V.; Postnov, A. A.; Pervushov, E. M. & Popov, E. V. (2006). "On the brain of a primitive bird from the Upper Cretaceous of European Russia". Paleontological Journal. 40 (6): 655–67. doi:10.1134/s0031030106060086.
