Overview
- The peer-reviewed description names the sparrow-sized enantiornithine Chromeornis funkyi and was published December 5 in Palaeontologica Electronica.
- More than 800 particles are packed in the esophagus beside the neck bones, with their placement and chemistry indicating they were swallowed during life.
- CT scans and quantitative comparisons show the mass does not match known gastrolith patterns for birds of similar size, and some particles appear to be clay-like pellets.
- The authors infer a failed regurgitation that lodged the mass in the esophagus and caused fatal choking, presenting this as a provisional hypothesis.
- The specimen was identified in the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature by the Field Museum’s Jingmai O’Connor, adding a rare case of preserved cause of death in an extinct bird lineage named in honor of the band Chromeo.