Presbyornis

Presbyornis
Temporal range: Late Paleocene–Early Eocene
An assemblage of Presbyornis pervetus skeletons (AMNH 28505)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Family: †Presbyornithidae
Genus: †Presbyornis
Wetmore, 1926
Species
  • †P. pervetus Wetmore, 1926 (type)
  • †P. recurvirostra[a] (Hardy, 1959)
  • †P. isoni Olson, 1994
  • †"P." mongoliensis[9] Kurochkin & Dyke, 2010
Synonyms

Presbyornis is an extinct genus of presbyornithid bird from North America during the Paleogene period, between the Late Paleocene and Early Eocene.[2]

History of discovery

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Artist's impression

The fossil record of P. pervetus includes many complete skeletons from Green River Formation sites (Early Eocene), suggesting that the birds nested in colonies and that they possibly died due to volcanism or botulism, the latter of which is similar to many colony-nesting waterfowl or shorebirds today.[2] Fossils identified as P. cf. pervetus have been discovered from the Margaret Formation of Ellesmere Island, where the remains of Gastornis sp. have also been found.[10]

P. recurvirostra is known from a partial wing (KUVP 10105) found in the Colton Formation, from the Late Paleocene to Early Eocene sediments of the Wasatch Plateau near Ephraim, Utah.[2] P. isoni, much larger than P. pervetus, is known from the Late Paleocene Aquia Formation in Maryland, based on the partial humerus (USNM 294116) and partial fingerbone (USNM 294117) that were initially described, as well as a complete humerus (SMM P96.9.2).[11][2] Three humeri that were initially believed to be from Headonornis are suggested to belong to P. isoni, and the holotype coracoid of Headonornis may also be assigned to as P. isoni, though these claims require additional material for confirmation.[12][3] However, Headonornis is now referred to as a stem group representative of the Phoenicopteriformes.[13]

The holotype and paratypes of "P." mongoliensis are known from the Early Eocene of Mongolia,[4] but these fragmentary specimens are poorly preserved and they likely belong to a stem Phoenicopterimorphae, not a presbyornithid.[9] Undescribed fossils are also known from the Paleocene of Utah.[3] Wunketru howardae, previously thought to be a species of Telmabates or a junior synonym of P. pervetus, is now considered a distinct anseriform.[14]

Description

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Along with Teviornis, Presbyornis was one of the earliest stem anseriforms.[3] Because of its long legs and neck, Presbyornis could stand up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) tall and was initially mistaken for a flamingo, but it was reclassified as an anseriform when the duck-like anatomy of its skull and bill was found.[15] Later, it was believed to represent a transitional stage between the anseriforms and the shorebirds, but it is now considered a member of an extinct group of anseriforms which was most closely related to modern screamers. Judging from numerous fossil findings, Presbyornis is presumed to have lived in colonies around shallow lakes.[2] Its broad, flat bill was used to filter food (small plants and animals) from the water, in the manner of today's dabbling ducks.[15]

Notes

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  1. ^ This species was first described as Coltonia recurvirostra by John William Hardy in 1959.[1] Ericson (2000) reclassified it as a species of Presbyornis by the name P. recurvirostrus,[2] and this species was also referred to as P. recurvirostris by Kurochkin, Dyke & Karhu (2002)[3] and Kurochkin & Dyke (2010).[4] However, since recurvirostra is a noun in apposition, combining the Latin recurvus meaning 'bent' or 'curved backwards' with rostrum meaning 'bill',[5] the original spelling is to be maintained regardless of the change in generic gender, as noted by ICZN Article 31.2.1.[6] Thus, P. recurvirostra is the correct spelling, as used by De Pietri et al. (2016)[7] and Worthy et al. (2023).[8]

References

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  1. ^ Hardy, J.W. (1959). "A Previously Undescribed Recurvirostrid from the Eocene of Utah". The Auk. 76 (1): 106–108. doi:10.2307/4081861. JSTOR 4081861.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Ericson, Per G.P. (2000-09-25). "Systematic revision, skeletal anatomy, and paleoecology of the New World early Tertiary Presbyornithidae (Aves: Anseriformes)" (PDF). PaleoBios. 20 (2): 1–23.
  3. ^ a b c d Kurochkin, E. N.; Dyke, G. J.; Karhu, A. A. (2002). "A new presbyornithid bird (Aves, Anseriformes) from the late Cretaceous of southern Mongolia". American Museum Novitates (3386): 1–11. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2002)386<0001:ANPBAA>2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/2875. S2CID 59147935.
  4. ^ a b Kurochkin, Evgeney N.; Dyke, Gareth J. (2010). "A Large Collection of Presbyornis (Aves, Anseriformes, Presbyornithidae) from the Late Paleocene and Early Eocene of Mongolia". Geological Journal. 45 (4): 375–387. Bibcode:2010GeolJ..45..375K. doi:10.1002/gj.1177. S2CID 140588679.
  5. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 331. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. ^ "Article 31. Species-group names". Retrieved May 29, 2024. A species-group name that is a simple or compound noun (or noun phrase) in apposition need not agree in gender with the generic name with which it is combined (the original spelling is to be retained, with gender ending unchanged; see Article 34.2.1).
  7. ^ De Pietri, V.L.; Scofield, R.P.; Zelenkov, N.; Boles, W.E.; Worthy, T.H. (2016). "The unexpected survival of an ancient lineage of anseriform birds into the Neogene of Australia: the youngest record of Presbyornithidae". Royal Society Open Science. 3 (2): 150635. Bibcode:2016RSOS....350635D. doi:10.1098/rsos.150635. PMC 4785986. PMID 26998335.
  8. ^ Worthy, Trevor H.; De Pietri, Vanesa L.; Scofield, R. Paul; Hand, Suzanne J. (2023-03-20). "A new Eocene species of presbyornithid (Aves, Anseriformes) from Murgon, Australia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 47 (4): 416–430. Bibcode:2023Alch...47..416W. doi:10.1080/03115518.2023.2184491. ISSN 0311-5518. S2CID 257679005.
  9. ^ a b Zelenkov, N. V. (2021). "A revision of the Palaeocene–Eocene Mongolian Presbyornithidae (Aves: Anseriformes)". Paleontological Journal. 55 (3). doi:10.31857/S0031031X21030132.
  10. ^ Stidham, Thomas A.; Eberle, Jaelyn J. (2016). "The palaeobiology of high latitude birds from the early Eocene greenhouse of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada". Scientific Reports. 6: Article number 20912. Bibcode:2016NatSR...620912S. doi:10.1038/srep20912. PMC 4751439. PMID 26867798.
  11. ^ Olson, S. (1994). "A giant Presbyornis (Aves: Anseriformes) and other birds from the Paleocene Aquia Formation of Maryland and Virginia". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 107: 429–435. hdl:10088/6493.
  12. ^ Dyke, Gareth J. (2001). "The fossil waterfowl (Aves: Anseriformes) from the Eocene of England". American Museum Novitates (3354): 1–15. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2001)354<0001:TFWAAF>2.0.CO;2.
  13. ^ Mayr, G. (2009). "Phoenicopteriformes (flamingos) and Podicipediformes (grebes)". Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer. pp. 105–109. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-89628-9_10. ISBN 978-3-540-89628-9.
  14. ^ De Mendoza, Ricardo Santiago; Degrange, Federico Javier; Tambussi, Claudia Patricia (2024). "An assessment of the anseriform affinities of "Telmabates" howardae". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 135. 104786. Bibcode:2024JSAES.13504786D. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2024.104786. S2CID 267159455.
  15. ^ a b Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 181. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

References

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  • Dyke, Gareth J. (2001): The Fossil Waterfowl (Aves: Anseriformes) from the Eocene of England. American Museum Novitates 3354: 1–15. PDF fulltext
  • Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 181. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  • Wetmore, Alexander (1926): Fossil birds from the Green River Deposits of Eastern Utah. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 16: 391–402.
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