An exceptionally preserved specimen of the extinct flying paleognathe "Lithornis" was published by Leonard et al. in 2005. It is an articulated and nearly complete fossil from the early Eocene of Denmark, and thought to have the best preserved lithornithiform skull ever found. The authors concluded that "Lithornis" was a close sister taxon to tinamous, rather than ostriches, and that the lithornithiforms + tinamous were the most basal paleognaths. They concluded that all ratites, therefore, were monophyletic, descending from one common ancestor that became flightless. They also interpret the paleognath-like "Limenavis", from Early Cretaceous Patagonia, as possible evidence of a Cretaceous and monophyletic origin for paleognathes.