''Afrocygnus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus of

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

, which lived during the Late Miocene, and perhaps up to the Late Pliocene, in what is today North Africa. The only genus of swan known in Africa, aside from fragmentary Pleistocene remains found in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

and from occasional observations of vagrant European swans along the Mediterranean coast, it lived in what was during the Miocene a damp wetland spanning from Libya to

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

, alongside the Antracothere ''

Libycosaurus ''Libycosaurus'' ("Lizard of Libya") was one of the last anthracothere genera. It lived from the Middle to the Late Miocene, and ranged throughout Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (m ...

'' and the early Homininae '' Sahelanthropus''. The genus is considered as the sister taxon of the extant genus '' Cygnus''. Fossils of the genus have been uncovered in the

Sahabi Formation The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...

of Cyrenaica in Libya, and in the Toros-Menalla locality in the Djurab Desert of Northern

History and naming

Fossils associated with ''Afrocygnus'' were first described in 1987 by Peter Ballmann from remains found in the

of Libya. They were originally identified as an indeterminate Anseriform. In 2005, a new study by Louchart, Vignaud, Likius, Taisso Mackaye and Brunet described new remains found at Toros-Menalla in the Djurab Desert, in

, and established a new genus and species, ''Afrocygnus chauvireae'', using TM112.00.196, a complete left humerus, as holotype. The fragmentary remains found in 1987 in Libya were associated to the genus, and tentatively to the type species. The genus name, Afrocygnus, is composed of ''Afro-'', meaning "of Africa", and ''-cygnus'', meaning "swan". The species name, ''chauvireae'', honours the French paleontologist Cécile Mourer-Chauviré.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21352857 Birds described in 2005 Fossil taxa described in 2005 Cenozoic birds of Africa Prehistoric bird genera Anseriformes Swans