protoavis

[ proh-toh-ey-vis ]

noun

1. a fossil bird of the genus Protoavis, from the Triassic Period, having a birdlike, partly toothless jaw structure, a tail and hind legs resembling those of the dinosaur, and the hollow bones and keellike breast that are characteristic of modern birds: the oldest known avian type, preceding the archaeopteryx by an estimated 75 million years.

Word History and Origins

Origin of protoavis¹

< New Latin (1986), equivalent to Greek proto- proto- + Latin avis bird