Falcatakely
Falcatakely (meaning "small scythe" from the Latin "falcatus" and Malagasy "kely", in reference to the shape of the beak) is an extinct genus of enantiornithean bird known from partial fossils from northern Madagascar. The genus contains a single species, Falcatakely forsterae. Description. "Falcatakely" is a crow-sized stem-bird that can be distinguished from all other enantiornitheans by its deep, long rostrum approx. 9 centimetres (3.5 inch) in length, which is slightly reminiscent of that of a toucan. Classification. The describers' phylogenetic analyses all place "Falcatakely" in the Enantiornithes, though its precise position is unclear. It has been recovered  as a basal enantiornithean, the sister taxon of "Pengornis", and in a polytomy with many other enantiornitheans. Paleoenvironment. "Falcatakely" is known from the Maevarano Formation, then a swampy floodplain which seasonally alternated between being swampland in the wet season and dry semidesert during the dry season; it was home to other unusual animals such as "Simosuchus", a herbivorous crocodilian, "Masiakasaurus", a short-armed, buck-toothed theropod, and "Adalatherium", a highly unusual stem-mammal. These forms may have evolved due to Madagascar being an isolated island during the Cretaceous.