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Lithornithiformes
Lithornithidae is an extinct, possibly paraphyletic (but see below) group of early paleognath birds. They are known from fossils dating to the Upper Paleocene through the Middle Eocene of North America and Europe, with possible Late Cretaceous representatives. All are extinct today; the youngest specimen is the currently unnamed SGPIMH MEV1 specimen from the mid-Eocene Messel Pit site. Lithornithids had long, slender, bills for probing. They closely resembled modern tinamous, aside from more developed wings. They possessed a rhynchokinetic skull with relatively unfused cranial bones, a weakly fused pygostyle and a splenial. The unguals were more curved than in tinamous and probably allowed better perching in trees. The order Lithornithiformes was erected by Dr. Peter Houde in 1988. Initially, only three genera ('' Lithornis'', '' Paracathartes'', and '' Pseudocrypturus'') and eight named species were included. '' Promusophaga'' (Harrison & Walker, 1977) originally considered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paleognathae
Palaeognathae (; ) is an infraclass of birds, called paleognaths or palaeognaths, within the class Aves of the clade Archosauria. It is one of the two extant infraclasses of birds, the other being Neognathae, both of which form Neornithes. Palaeognathae contains five extant orders consisting of four flightless lineages (plus two that are extinct), termed ratites, and one flying lineage, the Neotropic tinamous. There are 47 species of tinamous, five of kiwis (''Apteryx''), three of cassowaries (''Casuarius''), one of emus (''Dromaius'') (another became extinct in historic times), two of rheas (''Rhea'') and two of ostriches ('' Struthio'').Clements, J. C. ''et al''. (2010) Recent research has indicated that paleognaths are monophyletic but the traditional taxonomic split between flightless and flighted forms is incorrect; tinamous are within the ratite radiation, meaning flightlessness arose independently multiple times via parallel evolution. There are three extinct groups t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithornis
''Lithornis'' is a genus of extinct paleognathous birds. Although ''Lithornis'' was able to fly well, their closest relatives are the extant tinamous (which are poor flyers) and ratites (which are flightless birds). Fossils of ''Lithornis'' are known with certainty from the Upper Paleocene through the Middle Eocene, but their fossil record may extend to the late Cretaceous. ''Lithornis'' is from ancient Greek for 'stone bird', as it is one of the first fossil birds to become widely discussed. Presumably closely related genera are '' Paracathartes'' and '' Pseudocrypturus''. Some researchers consider '' Calciavis'' as a species of ''Lithornis'' (''L. grandei''). Species Six species have been recognized in modern times; undescribed ones are also likely to exist. The supposed tarsometatarsus piece from which ''"Lithornis" emuinus'' was described is actually a humerus fragment of the giant pseudotooth bird '' Dasornis''.Houde, P. (1988) ''Lithornis celetius'' ''L. celetius'' is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paracathartes
''Paracathartes'' is a genus of extinct bird from the Wasachtian horizon of lower Eocene Wyoming. One species, ''Paracathartes howardae'' has been described. It is a paleognathous bird, turkey-like in stature and size, that probably resembled a tinamou quite closely. Unlike other lithornithids but much like its modern relatives it was probably a poor flyer.Houde, Peter W. (1988). "Paleognathous Birds from the Early Tertiary of the Northern Hemisphere". Publications of the Nuttall Ornithological Club (Cambridge, MA) ''Paracathartes'' was described by Harrison as the earliest known cathartid vulture. Rich criticized this assignment.Rich, P. V. (1983) Houde (1988) included it as a member of the order Lithornithiformes and family Lithornithidae.Houde, Peter W. (1988) The holotype specimen is in the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum. It has catalog number ROM 22658. It is the distal end of a left tibiotarsus. It was collected by G. E. Lindblad and G. Sternberg on 4 August 194 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calciavis Grandei
''Calciavis'' is an extinct genus of bird from the Eocene of Wyoming. It is a lithornithid, a member of a lineage of flying palaeognaths, distantly related to modern ratites. Like many other fossils from the Green River Formation, its are exceptionally well preserved, bearing impressions of skin and feathers. Some researchers consider this taxon as a species of ''Lithornis'' (''L. grandei''). Discovery and description The original specimen of ''Calciavis'', AMNH 30578, was found in the Fossil Butte Member of the Green River Formation, Wyoming, dating to around 51 million years ago. It is an exceptionally well preserved specimen, preserving most of the post-cranial skeleton aside from the femur and associated pelvic region, as well as soft-tissue impressions of feathers, skin, foot scales and claw sheaths. Another specimen, AMNH 30560 , was found in the vicinity, composed of a similarly complete most mostly disarticulate skeleton. It is diagnosed by several features of the skul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudocrypturus Cercanaxius
''Pseudocrypturus'' is a genus of extinct paleognathous bird. Three species are known and the type species is ''Pseudocrypturus cercanaxius''. It is a relative of such modern birds as ostriches. It lived in the early Eocene. The holotype fossil is in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. It has catalog number USNM 336103. It was collected from the Fossil Butte Member, Green River Formation, Lincoln County, Wyoming.Houde, Peter W. (1988) Taxonomy ''Pseudocrypturus'' means false tinamou. The species name cercanaxius comes from ancient Greek words , tail, and , worthless, in reference to the rudimentary pygostyle Pygostyle is a skeletal condition in which the final few caudal vertebrae are fused into a single ossification, supporting the tail feathers and musculature. In modern birds, the rectrices attach to these. The pygostyle is the main component o ... of this species. Footnotes References * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q7254714 Bird gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
