Name: Ichthyornis dispar
Time: Late Cretaceous
Locality: North America (Kansas and Texas)
Size: 8 in / 20 cm tall
First discovered in the 1870's, the toothed jaws of this ancient bird were originally thought to belong to a mosasaur - a contemporary, fish eating marine lizard. This reptile was preserved in the same rocks, and had similar jaws and teeth to those of Ichthyornis.
Ichthyornis dispar and others of its genus had a general structure like that of a large, modern sea tern, but with a proportionally bigger head and bill. The large sternum suggests strong flight.