A historical specimen of enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia representing a new taxon with a specialized neck morphology

We describe Holbotia ponomarenkoi gen. et sp. nov., the first articulated specimen of an enantiornithine bird from Mongolia, unearthed in 1977 from Early Cretaceous deposits and formerly thought to be a pterosaur. The specimen shows a series of morphological details that are either unique to the new taxon or very poorly known for Enantiornithes. A previously unobserved specialized cervical morphology, the development of a crest on the caudal...