''Phoenicopterus novaehollandiae'' is an extinct species of

flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of Wader, wading bird in the Family (biology), family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas ...

from the late

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

or early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

Etadunna Formation of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It was a large species similar in size to large specimens of the modern

greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and in southern Europe. Taxonomy The greater flamingo was desc ...

, but differs by likely having had a much better developed

hallux Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being '' digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being '' pl ...

which is typically reduced or absent in modern flamingos.

History and naming

''Phoenicopterus novaehollandiae'' was named based on a single

tarsometatarsus The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is only found in the lower leg of birds and some non-avian dinosaurs. It is formed from the fusion of several bones found in other types of animals, and homologous to the mammalian tarsus (ankle bones) and meta ...

that retains a nearly complete distal end and approximately 95% of the shaft. The bone was discovered in a layer of mudstone that is part of the Etadunna Formation, southeast of Lake Pitikanta within the

Lake Eyre basin The Lake Eyre basin ( ) is a drainage basin that covers just under one-sixth of all Australia. It is the largest endorheic basin in Australia and amongst the largest in the world, covering about , including much of inland Queensland, large porti ...

Description

The general anatomy of the holotype tarsometatarsus resembles that of the modern

and

American flamingo The American flamingo (''Phoenicopterus ruber'') is a large species of flamingo closely related to the greater flamingo and Chilean flamingo native to the Neotropics. It was formerly considered conspecific with the greater flamingo, but that trea ...

, being slender and elongated. ''P. novaehollandiae'' however differs significantly in the fact that there is a clear scar on the bone from where the first

metatarsus The metatarsal bones, or metatarsus, are a group of five long bones in the foot, located between the tarsal bones of the hind- and mid-foot and the phalanges of the toes. Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are numbered from the med ...

, the first toe, would connect to the tarsometatarsus. In modern ''Phoenicopterus'' species, the

is heavily reduced and only weakly connected to the leg by

ligaments A ligament is the fibrous connective tissue that connects bones to other bones. It is also known as ''articular ligament'', ''articular larua'', ''fibrous ligament'', or ''true ligament''. Other ligaments in the body include the: * Peritoneal li ...

. In other modern flamingo genera, namely ''

Phoenicoparrus ''Phoenicoparrus'' is a genus of birds in the flamingo family Phoenicopteridae. First established by Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a Fren ...

'' (Jame's & Andean flamingo) and ''

Phoeniconaias ''Phoeniconaias'' is a genus of birds in the flamingo family Phoenicopteridae. The genus contains one extant species, the lesser flamingo (''Phoenicopterus minor'') occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India, and an extinct species ''Phoen ...

'' (lesser flamingo), this toe is even shorter or entirely absent. This suggests that, while not preserved itself, the first toe of ''P. novaehollandiae'' would be longer and more functional than in any modern flamingo. The third and fourth

trochlea Trochlea (Latin for pulley) is a term in anatomy. It refers to a grooved structure reminiscent of a pulley's wheel. Related to joints Most commonly, trochleae bear the articular surface of saddle joint, saddle and other joints: * Trochlea of hume ...

are closer together than in modern species and the second trochlea is narrower. These features might indicate that the toes weren't as spread apart, but likely had little impact on the foots function. In size the holotype falls within the range expected from the greater flamingo, but is located towards the upper maximum, suggesting that it was among the larger species within the ''Phoenicopterus'' genus.

Paleobiology

''Phoenicopterus novaehollandiae'' likely behaved and foraged much like modern flamingos, being a stilt-legged wading bird according to Miller. The presence of flamingos in the

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

of Australia in the form of ''P. novaehollandiae'' and '' Phoeniconotius eyrensis'' indicates that long-lasting, shallow freshwater lakes must have been present in central Australia at the time to sustain the colonies these birds typically live in. As fossils flamingos are found in Australia up to the Pleistocene, Miller argues that the increased aridificataion of the continent eventually lead to the extinction of flamingos in Australia, as shallow lakes still found are typically not permanent and thus incapable of sustaining flamingos feeding, nesting and raising their young.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q109249593 Fossil taxa described in 1963 Fossils of Australia Prehistoric birds