''Conflicto antarcticus'' is a species of stem

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

whose fossils were found in the

early Paleocene The Danian is the oldest age or lowest stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series, of the Paleogene Period or System, and of the Cenozoic Era or Erathem. The beginning of the Danian (and the end of the preceding Maastrichtian) is at the Cretaceo ...

López de Bertodano Formation The Lopez de Bertodano Formation is a geological Formation (geology), formation in the James Ross Island, James Ross archipelago of the Antarctic Peninsula. The strata date from the end of the Late Cretaceous (upper-lower Maastrichtian stage) to t ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

, the only species of its genus and the family Conflictonidae. It is characterized by it slender body and long legs, yet possesses a duck-like bill which indicates the form of beak evolved early in Anseriformes.

Description

''Conflicto'' is known from a single partially complete specimen described in January 2019. It had long legs compared to its body, contrasting what is seen in modern ducks. It is estimated to be around in length, and had a long head relative to body size. Its beak had a similar structure to that of ducks and geese, but was not as wide. The rostrum possessed narial openings wider than that of modern Anseriformes. Its neck was about half its body length, possessing (estimated) 15 long vertebrae.

Classification

''Conflicto'' was a likely a stem anseriform, equally related to the current extant clades. The genus ''

Anatalavis ''Anatalavis'' is genus of prehistoric birds related to ducks and geese, perhaps in particular the magpie-goose. The species ''Anatalavis rex'' – formerly placed in ''Telmatornis'' – is known from the Hornerstown Formation (Late Cretaceous or ...

'' is hypothesized to be less related to the

magpie goose The magpie goose (''Anseranas semipalmata'') is the sole living representative species of the family Anseranatidae. This common waterbird is found in northern Australia and southern New Guinea. As the species is prone to wandering, especially wh ...

as previously thought, but placed as a sister clade to ''Conflicto'', though this isn't conclusive. The phylogenetic classification remains uncertain, but is more likely to be stem-waterfowl rather than crown-waterfowl, separated from modern anseriform lineages.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q63928863 Anseriformes Birds of Antarctica Paleocene animals of Antarctica Fossils of Antarctica Fossil taxa described in 2019