I have some problems with the nomenclature used in this paper:
Anatalavis oxfordi Olson, 1999 is the second species named in the genus
Anatalavis Olson et Parris, 1987. The type species of
Anatalavis Olson et Parris, 1987 is
Telmatornis rex Shufeldt, 1915. The type species of
Telmatornis Marsh, 1870 is
Telmatornis priscus Marsh, 1870. (by subsequent designation by Hay, 1902.). Olson and Parris kept these species in the “Form Family” Graculavidae in the Order Charadriiformes.
When in 1999 Olson described
Anatalavis oxfordi he transferred the genus
Anatalavis Olson et Parris, 1987 to the Anseriformes, Anseranatidae P. L. Sclater, 1880 and named a new subfamily Anatalavinae Olson, 1999 in the Anseranatidae.
Now Tambussi
et al transfer
Anatalavis oxfordi to their
Incertae familiae, as the sister taxon to
Conflicto antarcticus (see the tree above). They do not mention
Anatalavis rex (Shufeldt, 1915) so the question is: is only
Anatalavis oxfordi transferred or the complete genus
Anatalavis.
In my opinion, If only
Anatalavis oxfordi is transferred, then it needs a new genus name as it is not the type species of the genus. Fortunately, such a new name is available:
Nettapterornis Mlíkovský, 2002, but unfortunately the 2002 work by Mlíkovský is largely ignored by the paleornithological world (see Mourer-Chauviré, 2004). Or, If the complete genus is transferred, the name can stand, but then we have another problem: what to do with Anatalavinae Olson, 1999? Can it be promoted to a full family Anatalavidae for the clade including the genera
Anatalavis and
Conflicto instead of the
Incertae familiae?
Of course I asked these questions to Claudia Tambussi but her answer was unsatisfactory to me:
“dear Sir,
thank you for your interest. your doubts about the different Anatalavis species can not be answered by now. In the work on Conflicto, the focus was on solving another problem.”
Fred
References:
Jíří Mlíkovský, 2002
Cenozoic Birds of the World Part 1: Europe
Praha Ninox Press, 2002: 1-407
http://www2.nrm.se/ve/birds/sape/Gl...likovski 2002 Cenozoic birds of the world.pdf
Cécile Mourer-Chauviré, 2004
Review of Jíří Mlikowsky (2002). Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe
The Auk 121: 623-627
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232681410_Cenozoic_Birds_of_the_World_Part_1_Europe
Storrs Lovejoy Olson, 1999
The Anseriform Relationship of Anatalavis Olson and Parris (Anseranatidae), with a New Species from the Lower Eocene London Clay
in: Avian Paleontology at the Close of the 20th Century: Proceedings of the 4th International Meeting of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution, Washington, D.C., 4-7 June 1996
Storrs Lovejoy Olson editor
Peter Wellnhofer, Cécile Mourer-Chauviré, David William Steadman, and Larry Dean Martin Associate Editors
Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 89: 231-243
https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/2005?show=full
Storrs Lovejoy Olson & David C. Parris, 1987
The Createous Birds of New Jersey
Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology • Number 63
Smithsonian Institution Press, City of Washington
https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/1985/SCtP-0063-Lo_res.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y