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A fossil screamer (Anseriformes: Anhimidae) from the Middle Tertiary of southeastern Brazil
... gen. can be included among anhimids by having very large size, robust coracoid with a large procoracoid process, procoracoid foramen extensive and ellipsoidal in contour, and the presence of a large pneumatic foramen at its distal end (Alvarenga, 1999). As indicated in the diagnosis, Chainkanas can be clearly distinguished by other extant and extinct anhimids, especially by its procoracoid shape. ...
... As indicated in the diagnosis, Chainkanas can be clearly distinguished by other extant and extinct anhimids, especially by its procoracoid shape. Among anhimids, it is more similar to the Oligocene genus Chaunoides from Brazil than to extant genera Anhima and Chauna, by having a relatively elongate coracoid, narrow acrocoracoid process, and very wide and deep scapular fossa (Alvarenga, 1999). Loxornis clivus is a bird species based on a distal tibiotarsus with eroded distal condyles coming from the Deseadan beds (Oligocene) of Santa Cruz province. ...
... The only known specimen. It was originally described by Ameghino (1895) as an uncertain anseriform (Tonni, 1980), and more recently it was regarded as a possible anhimid by Alvarenga (1999; see Cenizo and Agnolín, 2010). Because Loxornis and Chainkanas are based on different materials, a direct comparison between them is not possible. ...
The present contribution aims to describe new fossil bird remains coming from early-middle Miocene beds (Pinturas and Santa Cruz Formations) in Santa Cruz province, Patagonia, Argentina. These include a new tinamid, a basal anseriform, one anhimid, two new tadornine ducks, possible gruid, psophiid, and parvigruid cranes, an uncertain falconid, a new species of the falconid genus Thegornis, a possible sophiornithid, a coraciid, and remains of innominate rallids, phoenicopterids and passeriforms of the clade Tyranni. If correctly identified, the gruid represents the oldest record for the clade in South America and one of the few findings of the group in the entire continent. The sophiornithid and parvigruid may constitute the first record for each clade in South America. The psophiid may constitute the first fossil record for the clade worldwide. The coraciid represents the first record for the family in South America and both the youngest and second record for coraciiforms in the continent. This, together with the gruid, constitute members of bird clades that were geographically widespread by Paleogene and early Neogene times, but now are restricted as relicts to the Old Word and North America. Their extinction from the Neotropical Region is still uncertain. The presence of at least three different members of Tyranni, reinforces previous thoughts sustaining a long and complex history of the subclade, and passeriforms as a whole, in South America. Birds, early Miocene, Santa Cruz province, Patagonia, Argentina.
La finalidad de la presente contribución es la de describir nuevos restos de aves fósiles procedentes de capas del Mioceno temprano-medio (Formaciones Punturas y Santa Cruz) en la provincia de Santa Cruz, Argentina. Estos incluyen un nuevo tinámido, un anhímido, dos nuevos patos tadorninos, posibles gruídos, psófidos y parvigruidos, un falcónido incierto, una nueva especie de falcónido del género Thegornis, un posible sofiornítido, un corácido, y restos de rállidos, foenicoptéridos y paseriformes del clado Tyranni innominados. Si la identificación es correcta el gruido representa el registro más antiguo para América del Sur y uno de los escasos hallazgos para el grupo en el continente entero. Por otro lado, el sofiornítido y el parvigruido constituirían los primeros registros para cada clado en Sudamérica. El psófido podría constituir el primer registro fósil certero para el clado a nivel mundial. El corácido constituye el primer registro para la familia en América del Sur y el más joven y segundo registro para los Coraciiformes en el continente. Este, junto al gruido, constituyen miembros de clados de aves que estaban ampliamente distribuidos durante el Paleógeno y Neógeno, pero que hoy en día se restringen a modo de relicto en el Viejo Mundo y en Norteamérica. Su extinción de la región Neotropical es aún incierta. La presencia de al menos tres miembros diferentes de Tyranni, refuerza las hipótesis previas que sostienen una larga y compleja historia no solo para el subclado, sino para los Passeriformes en general en América del Sur. Aves, Miocene temprano, provincia de Santa Cruz, Patagonia, Argentina.
... Represented by diverse taxa, Cenozoic Era fossil birds appear in several sedimentary deposits in Brazil, occurring in the Paleocene of the São Jos e de Itaboraí Basin (Alvarenga, 1983(Alvarenga, , 1985bBaird and Vickers-Rich, 1997;Alvarenga, 2010), the Oligocene of the Taubat e Basin (Alvarenga, , 1985a(Alvarenga, , 1988(Alvarenga, , 1990(Alvarenga, , 1993(Alvarenga, , 1995(Alvarenga, , 1999Mayr et al., 2011aMayr et al., , 2011b, the Mio-Pliocene of the Acre and Pirabas basins (Ackerman, 1964;Alvarenga and Guilherme, 2003;Bandeira et al., 2015), and Quaternary deposits of Bahia, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul (Alvarenga, 1998;Alvarenga and Olson, 2004;Lopes et al., 2006;Alvarenga, 2007;Alvarenga et al., 2008;Hsiou, 2009). Among these deposits, the largest record (8 species) is in the Trememb e Formation (Taubat e Basin) , 1985a, 1993, 1995, 1999, Olson and Alvarenga, 2002Mayr et al., 2011b), although few feathers have been described to date (Shufeldt, 1916;Santos, 1950;Alvarenga, 1988). ...
... Represented by diverse taxa, Cenozoic Era fossil birds appear in several sedimentary deposits in Brazil, occurring in the Paleocene of the São Jos e de Itaboraí Basin (Alvarenga, 1983(Alvarenga, , 1985bBaird and Vickers-Rich, 1997;Alvarenga, 2010), the Oligocene of the Taubat e Basin (Alvarenga, , 1985a(Alvarenga, , 1988(Alvarenga, , 1990(Alvarenga, , 1993(Alvarenga, , 1995(Alvarenga, , 1999Mayr et al., 2011aMayr et al., , 2011b, the Mio-Pliocene of the Acre and Pirabas basins (Ackerman, 1964;Alvarenga and Guilherme, 2003;Bandeira et al., 2015), and Quaternary deposits of Bahia, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul (Alvarenga, 1998;Alvarenga and Olson, 2004;Lopes et al., 2006;Alvarenga, 2007;Alvarenga et al., 2008;Hsiou, 2009). Among these deposits, the largest record (8 species) is in the Trememb e Formation (Taubat e Basin) , 1985a, 1993, 1995, 1999, Olson and Alvarenga, 2002Mayr et al., 2011b), although few feathers have been described to date (Shufeldt, 1916;Santos, 1950;Alvarenga, 1988). ...
... The abundance of invertebrates (Martins-Neto, 2005), especially crustaceans (Bergue et al., 2015a(Bergue et al., , 2015b suggests that these animals could be part of the diet of birds such as flamingos and ducks that nowadays prey on these animals (Alvarenga, 1990). In addition, the Trememb e Formation contains occurrences of these aquatic taxa (Alvarenga, 1988(Alvarenga, , 1990(Alvarenga, , 1995(Alvarenga, , 1999 that may have yielded these feathers. ...
Feathers are rare in the fossil record because they have a low fossilization potential. Despite their palaeobiological significance, they also provide important palaeoecological and taphonomic information. Here, we report a new occurrence of three isolated feathers from the shales of the Oligocene Tremembé Formation (Taubaté Basin, SE Brazil). Their possible taxonomic affinities and taphonomic features are also discussed. Analyses identified the specimens as representatives of two pennaceous morphotypes (i.e., a contour and a rectrice feather). Both are preserved as carbonized traces, although, due taphonomic processes, they show different degrees of preservation. Since the Tremembé Formation is responsible for the most diverse record of Cenozoic birds, and because water-adapted birds (e.g., anseriformes and phoenicopteriformes) occur in this unit, it is highly possible that these feathers belonged to these aquatic taxa. Further investigations should concentrate on geochemical and microscopic techniques in order to reveal additional taxonomic and paleoecological features currently unknown in Paleogene birds of Brazil.
... In South America, the fossil record of Paleogene Anseriformes is still relatively patchy. Several plesiomorphic taxa referred to Presbyornithidae, Anhimidae, and Tadorninae were described from the Paleogene and early Neogene of Argentina and Brazil (Tonni, 1980;Tambussi and Noriega, 1996;Alvarenga, 1999;Agnolin, 2004;Cenizo and Agnolin, 2010). ...
... The influence of the Great American Biotic Interchange in the fossil and recent avifaunas of South America resulted in massive faunal exchanges that have been taking place between North and South America since the late Miocene (Vuilleumier, 1985). In this way, due to the absence Brodkorb, 1964;Howard, 1964;Navas, 1977;Campbell, 1979;Tonni, 1980;Cuello, 1988;Carboneras, 1992;Tambussi and Noriega, 1996;Alvarenga, 1999;Agnolin, 2006;Cenizo and Agnolin, 2010 Brodkorb, 1964 ;Howard, 1964 ;Navas, 1977 ;Campbell, 1979 ;Tonni, 1980 ;Cuello, 1988 ;Carboneras, 1992 ;Tambussi et Noriega, 1996 ;Alvarenga, 1999 ;Agnolin, 2006 ;Cenizo et Agnolin, 2010. Abréviations : E/P : Paléocène-Eocène ;Ol : Oligocène ;Mioc : Miocène ;Pli : Pliocène ;Ple : Pléistocène ;Act : Présent. of Anatinae in pre-Pleistocene times, it is possible that these ducks immigrated to South America during such intercontinental connection, forming part of the Great American Biotic Interchange. ...
... The influence of the Great American Biotic Interchange in the fossil and recent avifaunas of South America resulted in massive faunal exchanges that have been taking place between North and South America since the late Miocene (Vuilleumier, 1985). In this way, due to the absence Brodkorb, 1964;Howard, 1964;Navas, 1977;Campbell, 1979;Tonni, 1980;Cuello, 1988;Carboneras, 1992;Tambussi and Noriega, 1996;Alvarenga, 1999;Agnolin, 2006;Cenizo and Agnolin, 2010 Brodkorb, 1964 ;Howard, 1964 ;Navas, 1977 ;Campbell, 1979 ;Tonni, 1980 ;Cuello, 1988 ;Carboneras, 1992 ;Tambussi et Noriega, 1996 ;Alvarenga, 1999 ;Agnolin, 2006 ;Cenizo et Agnolin, 2010. Abréviations : E/P : Paléocène-Eocène ;Ol : Oligocène ;Mioc : Miocène ;Pli : Pliocène ;Ple : Pléistocène ;Act : Présent. of Anatinae in pre-Pleistocene times, it is possible that these ducks immigrated to South America during such intercontinental connection, forming part of the Great American Biotic Interchange. ...
In the present paper, the distal end of a humerus referable to a Dendrocygninae anseriform bird is reported. The specimen was collected at the Monte Hermoso Formation (early Pliocene) of the Farola Monte Hermoso locality (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). This record constitutes one of the oldest for the group in South America and elsewhere. The overview of the anseriform record in South America indicates a similar pattern to that of other localities across the world. Paleogene localities are dominated by non-Anatinae taxa, whereas more recent faunas are dominated by anatines. Following this pattern, in South America the Anatinae appears in the fossil record as recently as in the Pleistocene, probably arriving from North America during the Great American Biotic Interchange. Pleistocene and Recent anseriform avifaunas are dominated by Anatinae taxa, and this dominance is probably due to some "key characters" regarding reproductive biology. In fact, the anatines exhibit a high reproductive success probably due to the capability of having two molts per year, and that the parental care of the downy young is only conducted by the female. The combination of characters may have allowed anatines to dominate most aquatic environments, surpassing in diversity more plesiomorphic taxa.
... There are no transverse foramina preserved on the atlas vertebra, but there are fractured surfaces on the vertebral body to suggest that vestiges of them may have existed. There is no notarium (34). The pygostyle is unknown. ...
... gen. and Presbyornis are poorly pneumatized, as is the Oligo-Miocene fossil screamer Chaunoides [34]. Thus, extensive skeletal pneumatization may be a relatively recently evolved autapomorphy of crown-screamers. ...
We describe nearly complete skeletons of basal Anseriformes from the Latest Paleocene to the early Eocene of North America and Europe. Collectively, these birds appear to be representative of anseriforms near the divergence of Anhimae and Anseres, but their exact positions relative to these clades remains uncertain. A new family, Anachronornithidae nov. fam., is erected on the basis of one of these, Anachronornis anhimops nov. gen., nov. gen. et sp., to which the others cannot be confidently assigned. The new fossils augment a growing collection of early Pan-Anseriformes, which in their diversity do not paint an unambiguous picture of phylogeny or character state evolution on the path to or within crown-Anseriformes. Anachronornis nov. gen. is similar in some aspects of both cranial and postcranial anatomy to other well-represented early Paleogene Anseriformes and members of Anseres, such as Presbyornis Wetmore, 1926. However, it exhibits a more landfowl-like bill, like that of Anhimae and unlike the spatulate bill of Anseres. Additional specimens of similar basal Anseriformes of uncertain affinities from the early Eocene of North America and Europe further complicate interpretation of character state polarity due to the mosaicism of primitive and derived characters they exhibit.
... Anseranas, Chloephaga, Anas). Among anhimids, this specimen is more reminiscent of the Oligocene Chaunoides than living genera, in lacking the pneumatic foramen on the palmar surface of the bone (Alvarenga 1999). ...
... One such basal anseriform is the flamingo-like Presbyornithidae, represented in Argentina by Eocene records of Telmabates antiquus Howard, 1955, from Chubut Province, and an indeterminate genus and species from La Pampa Province (Tambussi & Noriega 1998). Loxornis clivus Ameghino, 1895 was originally described as an incertae sedis anseriform, and more recently considered to belong to the basal family Anhimidae (Alvarenga 1999). Remaining Oligocene taxa are plesiomorphic anatids, and include the probable anserine Aminornis excavatus Ameghino, 1899, and Cayaoa bruneti and Teleornis impressus Ameghino, 1899, both referable to the basal subfamily Tadorninae (Tonni 1979, Agnolı´n 2004). ...
New bird fossils from the Santa Cruz Formation (lower–middle Miocene), Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia, Argentina, are described. They represent an indeterminate species of the extinct anhingid Macranhinga and a new genus and species of basal Anatidae Ankonetta larriestrai. The record of the giant darter Macranhinga constitutes the southernmost record for the family, and expands the known stratigraphic range of the genus, previously restricted to the upper Miocene. Based on an analysis of the fossil anhingid record from South America, we hypothesize that giant darters disappeared from South America in the early Pliocene due to climatic deterioration, regression of marine and freshwater environments, the arrival of placental carnivorous mammals, and also probably by competition with phalacrocoracid cormorants. The new anatid Ankonetta is based on an incomplete but informative tarsometatarsus, with superficial similarities to extant Dendrocygna. A brief overview of several fossil ducks from the Patagonian Cenozoic concludes that most pre-Pliocene examples belong to non-anatine taxa, indicating that plesiomorphic ducks were the dominant anseriforms in those times, a pattern also evident on other continents.
... Furthermore, Ameripodius silvasantosi Alvarenga, 1995, a small-sized chicken with relatively short and robust wings, was described in the pyrobituminous shales of the Tremembé, as well as the anseriform Chaunoides antiquus Alvarenga, 1999, found in bentonite clay (Alvarenga, 1995(Alvarenga, , 1999. Tremembé Formation's paleo-avifauna also includes the species Taubatornis campbelli Olson and Alvarenga 2002 found in bentonite clay and described in the Teratornithidae family, characterized by large 7 birds, supposedly predators or scavengers (Olson & Alvarenga, 2002). ...
Introduction. The Tremembé Formation (Oligocene), outcropping in the eastern region of the São Paulo State, Brazil, is the most richly fossiliferous lithostratigraphic unit in the Taubaté Basin, providing numerous records of a diverse flora and fauna from the Paleogene that inhabited the Paraíba Valley. Objective. This paper aims to provide an updated checklist of all groups of invertebrates and vertebrates that have been described based on fossils recovered from this geological formation in the last centuries. Methodology. A bibliographic survey was carried out in four different databases. Results. Over a hundred taxa were reported in the references analyzed, including porifers, nematodes, molluscs, annelids, arthropods, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Some invertebrate groups have a remarkable diversity like the paleo-fauna of arthropods. Furthermore, birds and mammals represent most of the taxonomic richness of vertebrates from the Tremembé Formation. Conclusion. The faunistic diversity of the Tremembé Formation, described throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, reveals the potential of paleontological discoveries in this geological area and its importance to the Oligocene Brazilian fossil record, providing support for dating processes and correlation with other fossiliferous localities.
... Its three extant species have an exclusively South American distribution but putative anihimids have been reported in the early Eocene of North America and Europe (Ericson, 1997;Feduccia, 1999). The fossil record of Argentinian screamers included Loxornis clivus Ameghino, 1895 that was exhumed in sediments from the late Oligocene of Santa Cruz Province, and considered to be of an uncertain family by Tonni (1980), but later relocated to Anhimidae (Alvarenga, 1999). ...
“The present state of knowledge of the Cenozoic birds of Argentina” published in Contribution in Sciences in the year 1980, written by the argentine paleontologist Eduardo Pedro Tonni, became a must-read for those interested in the record of fossil birds. In that work, all the records known up to that time are compiled and some comments are made. Since then, there have been crucial advances in unraveling the diversity of Cenozoic birds in Argentina. Based on that work, here is a detailed updated, and annotated list of all known avian records in Argentina that includes representatives of Palaeognathae (Tinamiformes and Rheiformes), Galloanseres (Anseriformes), and Neoaves (Sphenisciformes, Procellarifomes, Suliformes, Charadriiformes, Phoenicopteriformes, Ciconiiformes, Pelecaniformes, Coraciimorphae, Cathartiformes, Accipitriformes, Falconiformes, Cariamiformes, Psittaciformes and Passeriformes). Besides, a substantial contribution is that here are photographs of the holotypes of all the new species that were nominated after Tonni’s paper.
... While living Brazilian birds are particularly well studied (Sick 1997), with 1,919 recognized species (Piacentini et al. 2015), knowledge on their prehistoric representatives has been progressing slowly, with the lack of osteological collections hindering the development of both palaeornithology and systematics in Brazil (Alvarenga 1992). However, especially in the last decades, new species have been described from palaeontological sites across the country, the earliest records being from the early Cretaceous, comprising a total of 22 taxa (Winge 1887; Ameghino 1891; Alvarenga 1982;1990;1995;1999;Baird & Vickers-Rich 1997;Olson & Alvarenga 2002;Alvarenga & Guilherme 2003;Alvarenga & Olson 2004;Alvarenga et al. 2008;Mayr et al. 2011a;Mayr et al. 2011b;Carvalho et al. 2015). A considerable amount of material of Quaternary age has been found to date, such as the records from Bahia (e.g., Penido et al. 2012) and Minas Gerais (e.g., Souza Cunha & Guimarães 1978), but little has been published on it. ...
The Danish naturalist Peter Wilhelm Lund (1801–1880), regarded as the father of Brazilian palaeontology and archaeology, is known mainly for his work with fossil mammals of Quaternary age from the limestone caves of the Lagoa Santa region in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. However, during one decade of fieldwork (1835–1844), he also collected a large number of remains of other animal groups from these caves. Birds were well represented and, following assessment by the Danish ornithologist Oluf Winge (1855–1889), most of the specimens collected by Lund belong to species still living in the area. Here we present an overview of the bird remains (fossil and recent), found by Lund and others in the region, we update their taxonomic attributions, and comment on the history of the material, making information previously published only in Danish available in English.
... Undoubted anatids are known since the early Oligocene (Harrison and Walker, 1979;Mayr and Smith, 2001;Mayr, 2009Mayr, , 2017, and some of the earliest (Oligocene to early Miocene) fossil forms differ morphologically from their modern counterparts and thus are often classified within the extinct family-level taxa Romainvilliinae and Paranyrocidae (Lambrecht, 1933;Miller and Crompton, 1939;Mayr, 2008;Mayr and De Pietri, 2013;Mayr and Smith, 2017;Zelenkov, 2018). Crown-group Anatidae have an especially rich fossil record that dates to at least the late Oligocene (Worthy, 2008;Zelenkov, 2012), and the oldest undoubted members of Anhimidae and Anseranatidae are also known since that time (Alvarenga, 1999;Worthy and Scanlon, 2009). An older possible anseriform, the swan-sized Cygnopterus affinis (Van Beneden, 1883) from the early Oligocene of Belgium, was previously considered to be a relative of modern swans (Lambrecht, 1933), but even ordinal affinities of this taxon are currently regarded as highly uncertain (Louchart et al., 2005;Mayr, 2009;Mayr and Smith, 2017). ...
The early evolutionary history of waterfowl (Anseriformes) is poorly understood. Aside from the morphologically aberrant Presbyornithidae, the only other known early Paleogene anseriform taxon is Anatalavis oxfordi from the early Eocene of England. Here, I describe two bones from the late Paleocene of southern Mongolia (localities Naran-Bulag and Tsagaan-Khushuu), which belong to a very large swan-sized swimming waterfowl (Anseriformes) and are described as Naranbulagornis khun, gen. et sp. nov. This is the first non-presbyornithid anseriform bird found in the early Paleogene (Paleocene through early Eocene) of Asia and one of the few currently known Paleocene birds from Central Asia. It is also the largest volant bird from the Paleogene of Asia. Naranbulagornis khun documents a mosaic of autapomorphic and plesiomorphic features that are otherwise present in modern Anhimidae, Anseranatidae, and Anatidae, indicating a greater morphological diversity of early Cenozoic anseriforms than previously thought. The new taxon is morphologically closer to Anatoidea than to Presbyornithidae and represents the earliest global evidence of a spatial coexistence between presbyornithids and other basal waterfowl during the early Paleogene.
... Although not formally described, this early Eocene specimen from Wyoming was briefly assessed by Ericson [40], who noted that several elements of the postcranial skeleton closely match those of presbyornithids, including the carpometacarpus, coracoid, furcula and tibiotarsus (see also [32]). Chaunoides antiquus from the late Oligocene-early Miocene of Brazil [67] is known from several fragmentary bones, and despite it being morphologically very similar to extant anhimids, the extreme pneumatisation of the skeleton that characterizes modern anhimids is absent. There is, therefore, a strong possibility that screamers are derived from presbyornithid-like birds or that they had a common ancestor. ...
Presbyornithids were the dominant birds in Palaeogene lacustrine assemblages, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, but are thought to have disappeared worldwide by the mid-Eocene. Now classified within Anseriformes (screamers, ducks, swans and geese), their relationships have long been obscured by their strange wader-like skeletal morphology. Reassessment of the late Oligocene South Australian material
attributed to Wilaru tedfordi, long considered to be of a stone-curlew (Burhinidae, Charadriiformes), reveals that this taxon represents the first record of a presbyornithid in Australia. We also describe the larger Wilaru prideauxi sp. nov. from the early Miocene of South Australia, showing that presbyornithids survived in Australia at least until ca 22 Ma. Unlike on other continents, where presbyornithids were replaced by aquatic crown-group anatids (ducks, swans and geese), species of Wilaru lived alongside these waterfowl in Australia. The morphology of the tarsometatarsus of these species indicates that, contrary to other presbyornithids, they were predominantly terrestrial birds, which probably contributed to their longterm
survival in Australia. The morphological similarity between species of Wilaru and the Eocene South American presbyornithid Telmabates antiquus supports our hypothesis of a Gondwanan radiation during the
evolutionary history of the Presbyornithidae. Teviornis gobiensis from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia is here also reassessed and confirmed as a presbyornithid. These findings underscore the temporal continuance of Australia’s vertebrates and provide a new context in which the phylogeny and evolutionary history of presbyornithids can be examined.
... Both Anhimidae and Anseranatidae display distinct tuberculi retinacula m. fibularis medialis and lateralis, forming a clear sulcus m. fibularis, which is absent in G. ballmanni. Anhimidae also display characteristic skeletal pneumatisation (Alvarenga, 1999; O'Connor, 2004), but there is no sign of pneumatisation in G. ballmanni. Interestingly, within extant Anseriformes, G. ballmanni mostly resembles the Anserinae; they display a relatively wide fossa intercondylaris, and a less distinct sulcus m. fibularis (Fig. 3b–d). ...
A new large representative of the Anseriformes, Garganornis ballmanni n. gen. et n. sp., from the Miocene of Gargano, Italy, is described from the distal end of a left tibiotarsus. G. ballmanni displays morphological features that are characteristic of the Anseriformes, but differs from all extant and fossil Anseriformes, as well as from taxa closely related to Anseriformes. G. ballmanni is characterized by a very wide and shallow fossa intercondy-laris, a less pronounced difference in width of the lateral and medial condyle, reduced epicondyli, and a circular opening of the distal canal. G. ballmanni is larger than any living member of Anseriformes, and with an estimated body mass between 15.3 and 22.3 kg,it was most likely flightless. Although the observed similarities between G. ballmanni and basal taxa might indicate that G. ballmanni represents an insular relict of a stem lineage, it is considered more likely that G. ballmanni was a species of waterfowl highly adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle in an insular environment where mammalian carnivores are rare.
Where Did They Come From? The Origins of South American Fauna offers a fascinating journey into the origins of South American flora and fauna. Exploring life on the continent before and after the breakup of Gondwana, it delves into how creatures arrived in South America, be it through drifting across oceans or traversing land bridges. From birds and reptiles to mammals and fish, this book provides a comprehensive compendium of biological diversity, discussing their origins and evolutionary paths. Readers will gain insights into the mechanisms of animal dispersal, evolution, and the impact of the Great Biotic Interchange. The book also lists references for further exploration of the subject.
The book is structured into five parts:
Building South America: Covers tectonic movements, climate changes, and breaching isolation.
Shaping South America: Explores the landforms and diverse biomes across the continent.
Vertebrates within South America: Discusses unique amphibians, reptiles, fish, mammals, and birds that evolved on the continent.
Vertebrates immigrating to South America: Examines exotic reptiles, birds, and mammals that found their way to the continent. The author also lists the families of almost all genera of South American animals, while giving knowledge of their origins.
Recent Arrivals - the Great Biotic Interchange: Explores the significant interchange of various species that occurred later.
Ideal for students, biologists, and anyone curious about the natural world, this book is a captivating read that uncovers the incredible history of South American fauna and its evolutionary tapestry.
Galloanseres, the clade including galliform and anseriform birds, is supported by virtually all analyses of different kinds of molecular data and also resulted from analyses of morphological data. A recent study obtained an early Eocene date for the split of galliform and anseriform birds, some 55 million years. However, this divergence estimate is in clear conflict with the fossil record, which includes morphologically disparate stem group representatives of both Galliformes and Anseriformes from deposits of that age (anseriform birds have an even earlier fossil record). Extant Galloanseres are mainly characterized by morphological apomorphies that concern skull features. The postcranial skeleton of extant Galliformes and Anseriformes is quite different, but the morphology of Paleogene stem group Galliformes bridges the morphological gap between the extant taxa. Various ecomorphologically disparate Paleogene taxa were assigned to the Galloanseres. The morphological and ecological diversity within Paleogene Galloanseres, therefore, appears to have been extraordinarily high, including giant flightless ground birds with greatly reduced wings, long-legged filter-feeders, and pelagic taxa with wingspans of 4–5 m.
Many readers will be acquainted with phylogenetic terminology and avian osteology, and it is beyond the scope of the present work to provide an in-depth overview of these topics, each of which could fill a book on its own. For those less familiar with essential terms and definitions, these are outlined in the present chapter, which also introduces major features of the skull and some of the limb and pectoral girdle bones. Current hypotheses on the interrelationships of extant birds are reviewed, which constitute a phylogenetic framework for the study of fossil taxa. In order to set the following chapters on Paleogene birds into a full context, the Mesozoic fossil record of neornithine birds is furthermore discussed and an overview is given of major Paleogene fossil localities.
A tarsometatarsus of a large anseriform bird from the late Oligocene/early Miocene of the Saint-Gérand-le-Puy area in France is assigned to the distinctive taxon Paranyroca, which was before only known from the early Miocene of North America. Paranyroca may be a stem group representative of Anatidae and its tarsometatarsus exhibits a peculiar character mosaic, with an Anhimidae-like hypotarsus and an Anatidae-like distal end. With regard to these features, the bone resembles the tarsometatarsus of another anseriform bird from Saint-Gérand-le-Puy, which was described as Cygnopterus alphonsi but has not yet been compared with Paranyroca in the original description. C. alphonsi was originally identified as a swan, but this classification has subsequently been contested and here it is proposed that the species is more closely related to Paranyroca.
The avifauna identified in Europe during the first part of the Tertiary shows great affinities with the South American avifauna, fossil or recent; new discoveries indicate that this avifauna was also present in North America. It is possible to define an association of taxa, constituting a continental basal avifauna, common to these three continents, and amongst which some elements have survived only in South America. Some components of this avifauna having lost their ability to fly, or having a reduced flying ability, it is proposed that they diversified during the Upper Cretaceous or the Palaeocene and that they dispersed from South to North America, then to Europe, or the other way round, at a time when faunistic exchanges were possible by land routes, as has been demonstrated in other groups of vertebrates. The African avifauna at the same period is not very well known but, on the whole, the faunistic composition is different from that of the South America - North America - Europe group.
Several advances have been made on the understanding of the biotic and environmental history of South America and Antarctica including the discovery of additional fossil sites coupled with progress from multidisciplinary analyses encompassing tectonic, isotopic, and radiochemical dating and molecular studies in modern forms. This also changed the knowledge about birds. Characters of the South American (SAn) avian fossil record are: (1) presence of taxa with uncertain affinities and the absence of Passeriformes during the Paleogene; (2) progressive and accelerated increase of species starting at the Neogene (Miocene); (3) dispersal of important extinct lineages (e.g. Phorusrhacidae, Teratornithidae) to North America after the connection between both Americas; (4) scarce endemic species that are members of clades with major diversification during the Neogene (e.g., Cariamiformes) or that inhabits mainly in the southern hemisphere (e.g., Anhingidae); (5) highly diverse living groups with limited (e.g., Passeriformes) or none (e.g., Apodiformes) fossil record whose stem-groups are registered in Europe; (6) Absence of the most extant SAn bird lineages; (7) predominate of the zoophagous birds (>60 %) in all the associations (13) under scrutiny. Changes in diversity of the SAn birds during the Cenozoic could have been the result of the action of different processes (dispersal, vicariance, extirpations or extinctions) that affect groups in different ways.
A new genus and species of Teratornithidae, Taubatornis campbelli, is described from deposits of the Tremembé Formation of Upper Oligocene or Lower Miocene age in the Taubaté Basin of São Paulo State, Brazil. These fossils are much older (ca. 25 mya) than the next oldest known teratorn, Argentavis magnificens, from the late Miocene of Argentina (ca. 6 mya), and uphold the hypothesized origin of the Teratornithidae in South America. Taubatornis campbelli was smaller than other known species of the family and, as with most other occurrences of teratorns, was found syntopic with fossils of New World vultures of the family Cathartidae (Vulturidae auct.).
A partial quadrate (essentially the otic part) from the nonmarine, earliest Eocene (54.6 Ma) Tingamarra Local Fauna in Queensland, Australia, has been identified as the oldest Australian anseriform fossil. The Tingamarra quadrate shows a combination of plesiomorphic anseriform characters with a unique synapomorphic character complex of the Anhimidae (screamers), which today are endemic to South America. In concert with the basal position of the Anhimidae among the crown‐group anseriforms, this set of characters suggests a stem group of the Anhimidae, raising a possibility of the Transantarctic migration of stem anhimids to South America. The quadrate morphology supports palaeognathous rather than recently claimed anhimid relationships of the Dromornithidae and identifies Sylviornis as an anseriform rather than a galliform.
A new genus and species of swan (subtribe Cygnina) are described here from the late Miocene deposits of Toros Menalla (Chad, Africa), which have yielded the earliest known hominid. Afrocygnus chauvireae, gen. et sp. nov., is about the size of Cygnus atratus of the Australasian region, but differs morphologically from all living members of the genus Cygnus, and from all other extinct taxa of swans. Several extinct genera of swans or supposed extinct species of Cygnus actually appear not to belong to the Cygnini or to Cygnus, respectively, and should be revised. Afrocygnus chauvireae fills a biogeographical gap because there is no swan today in Africa except on the Mediterranean coast in winter, and the continent is now the only one—with Antarctica—lacking breeding swans. An unidentified swan is also represented in the Pliocene of Koro Toro (Chad). Remains previously identified as a goose-like member of Anserinae from the Mio-Pliocene boundary of Sahabi (Libya) are referred to Afrocygnus cf. A. chauvireae. Two records of a larger, unidentified swan are known in the early/middle Pleistocene of East Africa, but none for the southern part of the continent. Afrocygnus appears as the closest genus to Cygnus. The Chadian and Libyan swans indicate rather calm freshwater bodies in the vicinity of the deposits. Afrocygnus is indicative of some vertebrate endemism in the Chadian-Libyan area during the latest Miocene, in humid settings, through the incipient eastern Sahara desert.
The taxonomy and phylogenetic positions of the fossil waterfowl (Aves: Anseriformes) described from the Eocene of England are reviewed. Although a total of six species within five genera have been described, only the phylogenetic positions of the two taxa Anatalavis oxfordi Olson and Headonornis (Lydekker) can be hypothesized with confidence within the order Anseriformes. Anatalavis oxfordi is considered to be the sistertaxon to a clade comprising another fossil waterfowl, Presbyornis Wetmore, and the extant true ducks, Anatidae, whereas Headonornis may be congeneric with Presbyornis Fossil material referred to the genera Palaeopapia Harrison and Walker and Paracygnopterus Harrison and Walker is considered Aves incertae sedis.
The Quercymegapodiidae, primitive galliforms resembling recent megapodes, have been described from the Upper Eocene of Quercy, France. They have also been identified in the Upper Oligocene–Lower Miocene of Brazil, where they are represented by the genus Ameripodius Alvarenga. A new species of this genus, Ameripodius alexis sp. nov., from the Lower Miocene of France, is described here. The occurrence of the same genus on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean emphasizes the similarities between South American and European avifaunas during the early Tertiary. New discoveries indicate that a similar avifauna was also present in North America, and that a characteristic association of taxa can be defined for the group that includes South America, North America and Eurasia. However, so far as is known, the same avifauna does not occur in contemporaneous African avifaunas.
The late Oligocene birds of the Créchy quarry (Allier, France) with a description of two new genera (Aves: Pelecaniformes:
Phalacrocoracidae, and Anseriformes: Anseranatidae). The Créchy quarry includes several fossiliferous layers, the fauna of
which has been dated by micromammals to the latest Oligocene (reference-levels MP 29 and MP 30). Most of the birds belong
to the same species as those which are widespread in the early Miocene localities (MN 2a) of the Saint-Gérand-le-Puy area.
However, they differ from these Miocene avifaunas by the presence of a primitive form of Phalacrocoracidae,Borvocarbo guilloti n. gen. n. sp., and by a small representative of the Recent family Anseranatidae,Anserpica kiliani n. gen. n. sp. Most of these forms are aquatic birds which probably lived on lakes or on their shores.
Die spät-oligozänen Vögel des Steinbruchs von Créchy (Allier, Frankreich), einschliesslich der Beschreibung von zwei neuen
Gattungen (Aves: Pelecaniformes, Phalacrocoracidae und Anseriformes: Anseranatidae). Im Steinbruch von Créchy gibt es mehrere
fossilführende Schichten, deren Fauna anhand der Kleinsäuger als spätes Oligozän (Referenz-Niveaus MP 29 und MP 30) datiert
wurde. Die meisten Vogelarten entsprechen denjenigen, die auch aus den untermiozänen Fundstellen der Gegend um Saint-Gérand-le-Puy
bekannt sind. Im Unterschied zu diesen miozänen Vogelfaunen kommen in Créchy aber zwei neue Arten vor, eine primitive Form
der Phalacrocoracidae,Borvocarbo guilloti n. gen. n. sp., und ein Vertreter der rezenten Familie Anseranatidae,Anserpica kiliani n. gen. n. sp. Bei den meisten Vögeln handelt es sich um aquatische Arten, die wahrscheinlich auf Seen oder an deren Ufern
lebten.
We describe the earliest fossils of the enigmatic avian taxon Opisthocomiformes (hoatzins) from the Oligo-Miocene (22-24 mya) of Brazil. The bones, a humerus, scapula and coracoid, closely resemble those of the extant hoatzin, Opisthocomus hoazin. The very similar osteology of the pectoral girdle in the new Brazilian fossil compared to the extant O. hoazin, in which it reflects peculiar feeding adaptations, may indicate that hoatzins had already evolved their highly specialized feeding behavior by the mid-Cenozoic. We further show that Namibiavis senutae from the early Miocene of Namibia is another, previously misclassified representative of Opisthocomiformes, which documents that the extant Neotropic distribution of hoatzins is relictual. Because of the weak flight capabilities of hoatzins, their occurrence on both sides of the South Atlantic is of particular biogeographic interest. We detail that this distribution pattern is best explained by dispersal from Africa to South America, and that Opisthocomiformes provide the first example of transatlantic rafting among birds.
In recent years, avian systematics has been characterized by a diminished reliance on morphological cladistics of modern taxa, intensive palaeornithogical research stimulated by new discoveries and an inundation by analyses based on DNA sequences. Unfortunately, in contrast to significant insights into basal origins, the broad picture of neornithine phylogeny remains largely unresolved. Morphological studies have emphasized characters of use in palaeontological contexts. Molecular studies, following disillusionment with the pioneering, but non-cladistic, work of Sibley and Ahlquist, have differed markedly from each other and from morphological works in both methods and findings. Consequently, at the turn of the millennium, points of robust agreement among schools concerning higher-order neornithine phylogeny have been limited to the two basalmost and several mid-level, primary groups. This paper describes a phylogenetic (cladistic) analysis of 150 taxa of Neornithes, including exemplars from all non-passeriform families, and subordinal representatives of Passeriformes. Thirty-five outgroup taxa encompassing Crocodylia, predominately theropod Dinosauria, and selected Mesozoic birds were used to root the trees. Based on study of specimens and the literature, 2954 morphological characters were defined; these characters have been described in a companion work, approximately one-third of which were multistate (i.e. comprised at least three states), and states within more than one-half of these multistate characters were ordered for analysis. Complete heuristic searches using 10 000 random-addition replicates recovered a total solution set of 97 well-resolved, most-parsimonious trees (MPTs). The set of MPTs was confirmed by an expanded heuristic search based on 10 000 random-addition replicates and a full ratchet-augmented exploration to ascertain global optima. A strict consensus tree of MPTs included only six trichotomies, i.e. nodes differing topologically among MPTs. Bootstrapping (based on 10 000 replicates) percentages and ratchet-minimized support (Bremer) indices indicated most nodes to be robust. Several fossil Neornithes (e.g. Dinornithiformes, Aepyornithiformes) were placed within the ingroup a posteriori either through unconstrained, heursitic searches based on the complete matrix augmented by these taxa separately or using backbone-constraints. Analysis confirmed the topology among outgroup Theropoda and achieved robust resolution at virtually all levels of the Neornithes. Findings included monophyly of the palaeognathous birds, comprising the sister taxa Tinamiformes and ratites, respectively, and the Anseriformes and Galliformes as monophyletic sister-groups, together forming the sister-group to other Neornithes exclusive of the Palaeognathae (Neoaves). Noteworthy inferences include: (i) the sister-group to remaining Neoaves comprises a diversity of marine and wading birds; (ii) Podicipedidae are the sister-group of Gaviidae, and not closely related to the Phoenicopteridae, as recently suggested; (iii) the traditional Pelecaniformes, including the shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) as sister-taxon to other members, are monophyletic; (iv) traditional Ciconiiformes are monophyletic; (v) Strigiformes and Falconiformes are sister-groups; (vi) Cathartidae is the sister-group of the remaining Falconiformes; (vii) Ralliformes (Rallidae and Heliornithidae) are the sister-group to the monophyletic Charadriiformes, with the traditionally composed Gruiformes and Turniciformes (Turnicidae and Mesitornithidae) sequentially paraphyletic to the entire foregoing clade; (viii) Opisthocomus hoazin is the sister-taxon to the Cuculiformes (including the Musophagidae); (ix) traditional Caprimulgiformes are monophyletic and the sister-group of the Apodiformes; (x) Trogoniformes are the sister-group of Coliiformes; (xi) Coraciiformes, Piciformes and Passeriformes are mutually monophyletic and closely related; and (xii) the Galbulae are retained within the Piciformes. Unresolved portions of the Neornithes (nodes having more than one most-parsimonious solution) comprised three parts of the tree: (a) several interfamilial nodes within the Charadriiformes; (b) a trichotomy comprising the (i) Psittaciformes, (ii) Columbiformes and (iii) Trogonomorphae (Trogoniformes, Coliiformes) + Passerimorphae (Coraciiformes, Piciformes, Passeriformes); and (c) a trichotomy comprising the Coraciiformes, Piciformes and Passeriformes. The remaining polytomies were among outgroups, although several of the highest-order nodes were only marginally supported; however, the majority of nodes were resolved and met or surpassed conventional standards of support. Quantitative comparisons with alternative hypotheses, examination of highly supportive and diagnostic characters for higher taxa, correspondences with prior studies, complementarity and philosophical differences with palaeontological phylogenetics, promises and challenges of palaeogeography and calibration of evolutionary rates of birds, and classes of promising evidence and future directions of study are reviewed. Homology, as applied to avian examples of apparent homologues, is considered in terms of recent theory, and a revised annotated classification of higher-order taxa of Neornithes and other closely related Theropoda is proposed. (c) 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 149, 1-95.
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