?Crossvallia waiparensis, sp. nov. (1 Viewer)

[Fred Ruhe]

Gerald Mayr, Vanesa L. De Pietri, Leigh Love, Al A. Mannering & Richard Paul Scofield, 2019

Leg bones of a new penguin species from the Waipara Greensand add to the diversity of very large-sized Sphenisciformes in the Paleocene of New Zealand

Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, Latest Articles

Abstract: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2019.1641619

We describe a new large-sized species of the Sphenisciformes (penguins) from Paleocene strata of the Waipara Greensand in New Zealand. ?Crossvallia waiparensis, sp. nov. is represented by leg bones of a single individual as well as two tentatively referred proximal humeri and resembles Crossvallia unienwillia from the late Paleocene of Antarctica in size and morphology. The new species is the fifth published species of stem group Sphenisciformes from the Waipara Greensand and the fourth one, which has been formally named. It is distinguished from a recently reported tarsometatarsus of an unnamed large-sized penguin species from the Waipara Greensand and is the oldest well-represented giant penguin. ?C. waiparensis approaches the size of the Eocene taxa Anthropornis and Palaeeudyptes and provides further evidence that penguins attained a very large size early in their evolutionary history.

No free pdf but I found the paper at http://sci-hub.tw/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2019.1641619

Enjoy

Fred

 

[Fred Ruhe]

Systematic palaeontology

AVES Linnaeus, 1758
SPHENISCIFORMES Sharpe, 1891
cf. Crossvallia Tambussi et al., 2005

Etymology: Crossvallia in reference to the type locality (Seymour Island, Antarctica, Cross Valley, FR). Feminine in gender. (from Tambussi, Reguero, Marenssi & Santillana, 2005)

?Crossvallia waiparensis, sp. nov.

Holotype. CM 2018.23.9: associated leg bones of a single individual, including the distal end of the left femur, both tibiotarsi, the right tarsometatarsus, and a pedal phalanx (Fig. 1A–L).

Etymology. The species epithet refers to the type locality.

Type locality and horizon. Waipara Greensand, Waipara River, Canterbury, New Zealand; from site S2 of Mayr et al. (2017a), the holotype was found in situ 4 metres above the debris at the base of the cliff at 4303028.200S, 17235044.400E; collected in 2011 by Leigh Love.

Tentatively referred specimens. CM 2016.158.3: proximal end of left humerus (Fig. 1M–O), from the Waipara Greensand, Waipara River, Canterbury, New Zealand; collected in 2014 by Leigh Love just upstream from White Gorge at the exposure of the Mt. Ellen Member at 4303008.000S, 17236038.000E; the collection was on the surface of this exposure. CM 2016.158.2: fragmentary and worn proximal end of left humerus, from the Waipara Greensand, Waipara River, Canterbury, New Zealand, found loose about 10 metres stratigraphically above the locality of an undescribed pelagornithid bird (Mayr in press); collected in 2014 by Leigh Love at site S3 of Mayr et al. (2017a).

Fred