''Notochen'' (meaning "southern goose"), also called the Bannockburn swan, is an extinct genus of

anatid 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 ...

bird from the Early Miocene Bannockburn Formation of

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, New Zealand. The genus contains a single species, ''Notochen bannockburnensis'', known from various fossil material.

Discovery and naming

The ''Notochen'' holotype specimen, CM 2017.37.919, was discovered in the Bannockburn Formation ( Manuherikia Group) near St Bathans, Otago, New Zealand. This specimen consists of the distal right

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 ...

. Additional specimens, consisting of fragmentary

coracoids A coracoid (from Greek κόραξ, ''koraks'', raven) is a paired bone which is part of the shoulder assembly in all vertebrates except therian mammals (marsupials and placentals). In therian mammals (including humans), a coracoid process is prese ...

and a proximal part of the right shaft of a humerus, were also referred to ''Notochen''. In 2022,

Worthy Worthy can refer to: People * Worthy (surname) * Worthington Worthy Patterson (born 1931), American basketball player * F. F. Worthington, nicknamed "Worthy" Places * Worthy, see List of generic forms in place names in Ireland and the United Ki ...

''et al''. described ''Notochen bannockburnensis'', a new genus and species of antatid, based on these fossil remains. The generic name, "''Notochen''", combines the Greek words "notios", meaning southern, and "chen," meaning "goose". The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, "''bannockburnensis''", refers to the geologic formation from which the fossils were recovered. ''Notochen'' represents the eighth anatid named from the St Bathans Fauna.

Description

The describing authors concluded that ''Notochen'' would have had a body size comparable to

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

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 ...

s. Along with the coeval ''

Miotadorna ''Miotadorna'' is a genus of extinction, extinct Tadorninae, tadornine ducks from the Miocene of New Zealand. It contains two species, ''M. sanctibathansi'', and ''M. catrionae'' (Catriona's shelduck). ''M. sanctibathansi'' ''M. sanctibathansi'' ...

'', ''Notochen'' would have likely been a terrestrial grazer, while other anatids from the locality were mainly aquatic herbivores with diving and swimming adaptations.

Classification

While the describing authors could not confidently refer ''Notochen'' to either Cygnini (swans) or

Anserini Anser may refer to: People * Anser (poet), poet of ancient Rome * Anser Farooq, Canadian lawyer Other uses * ANSER, a security and defense analysis group * ''Anser'' (bird), a genus of geese * Anser (putter), a model of golf club made by Pin ...

(geese), they note that the proportions and large size of the fossil material suggest a more likely affinity to Cygnini.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q113281787 Anatidae Extinct birds of New Zealand Prehistoric bird genera Miocene life Fossil taxa described in 2022 Birds described in 2022