''Eonessa'' is an enigmatic genus of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
possibly belonging to
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
order
Gruiformes
The Gruiformes are an order (biology), order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird family (biology), families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like".
Traditionally, a number of wading and t ...
and which consists of the single species ''Eonessa anaticula''.
It was first described by
Alexander Wetmore
Frank Alexander Wetmore (June 18, 1886 – December 7, 1978) was an American ornithologist and avian paleontologist. He was the sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Early life and education
The son of a Country Physician, Frank Al ...
in the ''
Journal of Paleontology
The ''Journal of Paleontology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering the field of paleontology. It is published by the Paleontological Society.
Indexing
The ''Journal of Paleontology'' is indexed in:
*BIOSIS Previews
*Science Citatio ...
'' in May 1938. In his paper, Wetmore erected the
Anatidae
The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating ...
subfamily Eonessinae, and placed ''Eonessa'' as the oldest Anatidae genus in the fossil record. This placement was possibly due to a resemblance to the modern
ruddy duck
The ruddy duck (''Oxyura jamaicensis'') is a duck from North America and one of the stiff-tailed ducks. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ''oxus'', "sharp", and ''oura'', "tail", and ''jamaicensis'' is "from Jamaica".
Taxonomy
The ru ...
(''Oxyura jamaicensis''),
although Wetmore did not explain his taxonomic placement in the describing paper.
Restudy of the
holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
specimen in 1978 by
Storrs Olson
Storrs Lovejoy Olson (April 3, 1944 – January 20, 2021) was an American biologist and ornithologist who spent his career at the Smithsonian Institution, retiring in 2008. One of the world's foremost avian paleontologists, he was best known ...
and
Alan Feduccia
John Alan Feduccia (born 25 April 1943) is a paleornithologist specializing in the origins and phylogeny of birds. He is S. K. Heninger Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina. Feduccia's authored works include thre ...
resulted in the removal of ''Eonessa'' from Anatidae. Olson and Feduccia placed the genus as Aves
incertae sedis
' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...
noting it was possibly a member of the
polymorphic order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
Gruiformes
The Gruiformes are an order (biology), order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird family (biology), families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like".
Traditionally, a number of wading and t ...
.
The holotype was collected on August 26, 1936 from the
Myton Pocket,
Duchesne County, Utah
Duchesne County ( ) is a county in the northeast part of the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 18,607. Its county seat is Duchesne, and the largest city is Roosevelt.
History
Much of Duchesne County was ...
,
[The Paleobiology Database ''Eonessa anaticula'' page](_blank)
/ref> USA. The quarry is on the Myton Member of the Uinta Formation
The Uinta Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in northeastern Utah. The name appears on a geologic map accompanying the Clarence King Fortieth Parallel report for 1876 but not defined until 1878 as the Uinta Group. As defined, ...
and dates to the Middle Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn ...
, around 46-42 million years ago.
Now in the Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
paleontology collections as specimen number 14399, the holotype and only known specimen is a 13 cm (5 in) long partial wing, consisting of metacarpal
In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus form the intermediate part of the skeletal hand located between the phalanges of the fingers and the carpal bones of the wrist, which forms the connection to the forearm. The metacarpal bones ...
s down to the partial humerus
The humerus (; ) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extremity consists of a roun ...
. Though found articulated
An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were someti ...
, the bones were badly crushed during fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
ization. The bones, after further matrix removal in the 1970s, are very slender and with little diagnostic detail and little to no similarity to modern Anatidae members. The general proportions are closer to Gruiformes birds that have been found in the same rock formations; however, the lack of detail does not allow firm placement into the order.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q21359341
Paleogene birds of North America
Prehistoric bird genera
Fossil taxa described in 1938
Bird enigmatic taxa
Taxa named by Alexander Wetmore