Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 23, 2026

Avipes

Avipes is a genus of extinct archosaurs represented by the single species Avipes dillstedtianus, which lived during the middle Triassic period. The only known fossil specimen, a partial foot (metatarsals), was found in Bedheim, Thuringia, Germany, in deposits of Lettenkohlensandstein. Avipes was named in 1932 by Huene. Although originally classified as a coelurosaur or a ceratosaur, a new study of the fossil specimen found that it was too incomplete to assign to a group more specific than Archosauria, and so it was regarded as indeterminate by Rauhut and Hungerbuhler in 2000.

Last revised
Jun 23, 2026
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≈ 1 min
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Avipes
Temporal range: Middle Triassic,
Foot
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Genus: Avipes
Type species
Avipes dillstedtianus
Huene, 1932

Avipes (meaning "bird foot") is a genus of extinct archosaurs represented by the single species Avipes dillstedtianus, which lived during the middle Triassic period. The only known fossil specimen, a partial foot (metatarsals), was found in Bedheim, Thuringia, Germany, in deposits of Lettenkohlensandstein (a form of sandstone). Avipes was named in 1932 by Huene. Although originally classified as a coelurosaur or a ceratosaur, a new study of the fossil specimen found that it was too incomplete to assign to a group more specific than Archosauria, and so it was regarded as indeterminate by Rauhut and Hungerbuhler in 2000.1

References

References

  1. Rauhut, O. W., and Hungerbühler, A. (2000). "A review of European Triassic theropods." Gaia, 15: 75-88.