Akademik

most primitive avian type known; extinct bird of the Triassic having bird-like jaw and hollow limbs and breastbone with dinosaur-like tail and hind limbs

/proh'toh ay"vis/, n.

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.

[ < NL (1986), equiv. to Gk proto- PROTO- + L avis bird]

protoavis /prō-tō-āˈvis/

A member of the genus Protoavis of the Triassic period, with a dinosaur-like tail and hind legs but certain anatomical features characteristic of modern birds