For the commune in Botoşani County, Romania, see Vorona, Botoşani.

Vorona (VOO-roo-na, Malagasy for "bird", V. berivotrensis, "from Berivotra") is a monotypic genus of prehistoric birds. It was described from fossils found in a Maevarano Formation quarry near the village of Berivotra, Mahajanga Province, Madagascar. The age is Late Cretaceous, probably Campanian (70.6 - 83.5 mya). V. berivotrensis is known from scattered remains, possibly from a single individual (UA 8651 and FMNH PA715).

The phylogenic affiliation of Vorona is hard to determine due to the fragmentary nature of the remains, mainly because the fossil shows a mix of primitive avian features as well as some that seem very modern. Vorona might be a primitive ornithuromorph.

Vorona is sometimes confused with the dromaeosaur Rahonavis ostromi, a fossil of which was found in the same location. This confusion has led to the common misconception that Vorona had a deinonychosaur-like sickle claw on each foot.

References

• Forster, Catherine A.; Chiappe, Luis M.; Krause, David W. & Sampson, Scott D. (1996): The first Cretaceous bird from Madagascar. Nature 382: 532-534. (HTML abstract)

Footnotes