Xenerodiops mycter was an unusual heron from the Oligocene (~30 million years ago) of what is now Egypt.
Known only from a partial skull and an arm bone, it’s estimated to have stood around 70cm tall (~2’4″) and was probably fairly similar in overall appearance to modern night herons. Its beak was powerfully built and had a distinctive downwards curve, shaped more like some types of stork than other herons – suggesting it may have had a convergently stork-like lifestyle, slowly walking through its marshy habitat probing around for prey and snapping up whatever its beak came into contact with.
References:
- Dickson, Meig. “Xenerodiops mycter.” A Dinosaur A Day, 7 Jul. 2019, https://a-dinosaur-a-day.com/post/186367090025/xenerodiops-mycter
- Mlíkovský, Jiří. “Early Miocene birds of Djebel Zelten, Libya.” Časopis Národního muzea, Řada přírodovědná 172.1-4 (2003): 114-120. https://publikace.nm.cz/en/periodicals/jotnmpnhs/172-1-4/early-miocene-birds-of-djebel-zelten-libya
- Rasmussen, T.; Olson, S.L. & Simons, E.L. “Fossil birds from the Oligocene Jebel Qatrani formation Fayum Province, Egypt.” Smithsonian Contributions for Paleobiology 62 (1987): i-iv, 1–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.5479/si.00810266.62.1
- Wikipedia contributors. “Xenerodiops.” Wikipedia, 1 Jan. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenerodiops