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Description
One of the strangest components of the Mae Moh faunal assemblage were the arboreal Ceboraptorid and Pithecavid Microraptorians. With largely frugivorous diets (although Pithecavids also incorporate leaves) and high degrees of sociality, these beaked animals were once commonplace across Eurasia during the Late Eocene, although by the Miocene the group was restricted to the Indian subcontinent, China and Southeast Asia. Capable leapers and gliders, they also produce the most altricial offspring of any Non-Avian dinosaur on Alter Earth, coming together in huge ‘rookeries’ up in the canopy during the breeding season. Males and females invest great effort in caring for their offspring, being similar to many modern Neoavian birds in this respect. Living Holocene species are also notoriously loud, with groups producing constant chattering grunts and rattles. It is assumed that their Miocene relatives were similar, making the tropical forests of Middle Miocene Thailand a noisier place to be. Pithecavids tend to be larger and more exclusively frugivorous than their Ceboraptorid cousins, which are often omnivores that include insects and other arthropods in their diets. Indeed, some modern Pithecavids have specialized into almost herbivorous niches, feeding on leaves in addition to fruits and buds. At 1.2m long and approaching 7kg in weight, Mesopithecavis as a genus was a Mid to Late Miocene form native to Thailand, Myanmar and Northern India. It was a member of the modern subfamily Bandaraptorinae, a diverse lineage found across India, Southern China and South-East Asia.

Art by Sheather

Description
One of the strangest components of the Mae Moh faunal assemblage were the arboreal Ceboraptorid and Pithecavid Microraptorians. With largely frugivorous diets (although Pithecavids also incorporate leaves) and high degrees of sociality, these beaked animals were once commonplace across Eurasia during the Late Eocene, although by the Miocene the group was restricted to the Indian subcontinent, China and Southeast Asia. Capable leapers and gliders, they also produce the most altricial offspring of any Non-Avian dinosaur on Alter Earth, coming together in huge ‘rookeries’ up in the canopy during the breeding season. Males and females invest great effort in caring for their offspring, being similar to many modern Neoavian birds in this respect. Living Holocene species are also notoriously loud, with groups producing constant chattering grunts and rattles. It is assumed that their Miocene relatives were similar, making the tropical forests of Middle Miocene Thailand a noisier place to be. Pithecavids tend to be larger and more exclusively frugivorous than their Ceboraptorid cousins, which are often omnivores that include insects and other arthropods in their diets. Indeed, some modern Pithecavids have specialized into almost herbivorous niches, feeding on leaves in addition to fruits and buds. At 1.2m long and approaching 7kg in weight, Mesopithecavis as a genus was a Mid to Late Miocene form native to Thailand, Myanmar and Northern India. It was a member of the modern subfamily Bandaraptorinae, a diverse lineage found across India, Southern China and South-East Asia.

Art by Sheather