''Strigogyps'' 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

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

bird from the Middle Eocene to Early Oligocene of France and Germany. It was probably around the size of a large chicken or a guan, weighing not quite . Apparently, as indicated by the ratio of lengths of wing to leg bones, ''S. sapea'' was flightless. Its legs were not adapted to running, so it seems to have had a walking lifestyle similar to trumpeters. Unlike other

Cariamiformes Cariamiformes (or Cariamae) is an order of primarily flightless birds that has existed for over 60 million years. The group includes the family Cariamidae (seriemas) and the extinct families Phorusrhacidae, Bathornithidae, Idiornithidae and Ame ...

, which appear to have been mostly carnivorous, ''Strigogyps'' specimens suggest a herbivorous diet. Eocathartes robustus now Strigogyps

The type species of ''Strigogyps'' is ''S. dubius'', which was described by Gaillard in 1908. It was initially placed in the owl

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 ...

Strigiformes and considered to be a sophiornithid. ''S. dubius'' is based on a single tibiotarsus from the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene Quercy

phosphorite Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentoxi ...

s of France. This tibiotarsus was destroyed in World War II during the bombing of Munich, but casts remain. In 1939, Gaillard described a second species of ''Strigogyps'', ''S. minor'', based on a

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 ...

, two coracoids, and two

carpometacarpi The carpometacarpus is a bone found in the hands of birds. It results from the fusion of the carpal and metacarpal bone, and is essentially a single fused bone between the wrist and the knuckles. It is a smallish bone in most birds, generally flatt ...

, also from Quercy. In 1981, Mourer-Chauviré redescribed ''S. minor'' as ''Ameghinornis minor'', the only member of the new phorusrhacid

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

, Ameghinornithinae. ''Ameghinornis'' was later placed in its own family, Ameghinornithidae. In 1987, Peters named another monospecific genus of ameghinornithid, ''Aenigmavis sapea'', based on a nearly complete skeleton from the Middle Eocene Messel pit of Germany. Mayr (2005) found ''Aenigmavis'' to be a species of ''Strigogyps'', ''S. sapea'', and found ''Ameghinornis'' to be synonymous with ''S. dubius'', as they both came from Quercy, and are almost identical except for coracoids and carpometacarpi of ''Ameghinornis'', which Mayr found to be unlike other ameghinornithids, and probably from an idiornithid. Strigogyps restoration

In 1935, Lambrecht described a new New World vulture, ''Eocathartes robustus'', and a

hornbill Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family (biology), family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a Casque (an ...

, ''Geiseloceros robustus'', from the Middle Eocene ( Lutetian) of the Geisel Valley of Germany. Each was based on a single specimen, and they were found very close together. Mayr (2007) found them to be synonymous and a species of ''Strigogyps'', ''S. robustus''. Recent studies (Alvarenga and Höfling 2003, Mayr 2005) have found ''Strigogyps'' to be a more basal member of Cariamae, and not particularly close to the phorusrhachids.Mayr, Gerald (2005): "Old World phorusrhacids" (Aves, Phorusrhacidae): a new look at ''Strigogyps'' ("''Aenigmavis''") ''sapea'' (Peters 1987). ''PaleoBios (Berkeley)'' 25(1): 11-1
HTML abstract
/ref> '' Salmila robusta'', another bird from Messel was found to be more basal than ''Strigogyps'', and the

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

composed of ''Salmila'' and Cariamae to be the sister taxon to Psophiidae within a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

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 ...

.Mayr, G. 2002. A new specimen of Salmila robusta (Aves: Gruiformes: Salmilidae n. fam.) from the Middle Eocene of Messel. Paleontologische Zeitschrift 76(2/2): 305-316. Fragmentary remains from the

Palaeocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''palai� ...

and/or Eocene of England and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

have also been suggested to be phorusrhachids, but, like ''Strigogyps'', they probably are not.

References

* Peters, Dieter Stefan (2007): The fossil family Ameghinornithidae (Mourer-Chauviré 1981): a short synopsis. ''Journal of Ornithology'' 148(1): 25–28. PDF fulltext

External links

Tetrapod Zoology blog post on ''Strigogyps''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1291973 Eocene birds Oligocene birds Extinct flightless birds Prehistoric birds of Europe Paleogene France Fossils of France Quercy Phosphorites Formation Fossil taxa described in 1908

See also

References

External links