Pterocles bosporanus sp. nov. (2 Viewers)

[Fred Ruhe]

Nikita V. Zelenkov, 2023

A New Species of Sandgrouse (Aves: Pteroclidae) from the Early Pleistocene of the Crimea

Doklady Biological Sciences 511, 264–266 (2023).

https://doi.org/10.1134/S0012496623700497

Abstract: A New Species of Sandgrouse (Aves: Pteroclidae) from the Early Pleistocene of the Crimea - Doklady Biological Sciences

Sandgrouse (Pteroclidae, Pterocliformes) are specialized ground birds of open arid landscapes with a very poorly studied evolutionary history. In the late Pliocene–early Pleistocene, Pteroclidae are known only from few localities in Southern Europe. The article describes a relatively large fossil sandgrouse from the early Pleistocene of the Taurida cave in the Crimea. This is the first record of Pteroclidae in the ancient faunas of the Black Sea region and Eastern Europe. The unusual structure of the tibiotarsus makes it possible to describe the fossil form from Taurida Cave as a new species, Pterocles bosporanus sp. nov.

Enjoy,

Fred

 

[Fred Ruhe]

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY

Order Pterocliformes Huxley, 1868
Family Pteroclidae Bonaparte, 1831
Genus Pterocles Temminck, 1815

Pterocles bosporanus Zelenkov sp. nov.

Etymology. From the Bosporan Kingdom, an ancient state in the Northern Black Sea region.

Holotype. PIN, no. 5644/1523, distal fragment of the left tibiotarsus.

Description The condyles of the tibiotarsus are close to one another and form a single blocklike
proximodistally narrow articular surface; the medial condyle has a pointed apex, distinctly protruding
more proximally than the lateral condyle; the distal

Comparison. In absolute size, P. bosporanus corresponds to extant P. orientalis (Linnaeus, 1758); however,when viewed from the distal side, it differs in a noticeably less narrow end, a characteristic position of the medial condyle medially relative to the trochlea cartilaginis tibiotarsi, as well as a wide lateral condyle and the lateral part of the trochlea cartilaginis tibialis. When viewed from the cranial side, the block formed by the condyles is noticeably narrower (proximodistally) in the new species than in P. orientalis. It differs from other species of the genus in larger size. No fossil species in the genus have been described.

Remarks. A large sandgrouse comparable in size to P. bosporanus sp. nov. was described based on coracoids from the Lower Pleistocene of Italy (Pirro-Nord locality; approximately 1.35 Ma; [11]) and, on the basis of the size, was attributed to the extant P. orientalis inhabiting the Southern Palearctic. Possibly, the sandgrouse from Pirro Nord is also P. bosporanus; however, the two forms cannot be yet compared directly. The geography of the records of fossil Pteroclidae indicates the wide distribution of representatives of this specialized group in the Late Pliocene–Early Pleistocene avifaunas of the southern regions of Europe. Representatives of Pteroclidae must have inhabited the Northern Black Sea region at least since the Late Miocene; however, they have not yet been found in older deposits. The sandgrouse from the Taurida Cave is apparently one of the last Pteroclidae in this geographical region.

Material. Holotype only.

Fred


Fig. 1. Distal tibiotarsi of Pterocles bosporanus Zelenkov, sp. nov., from the Lower Pleistocene of the Crimea and extant Pteroclidae: (a, b) Pterocles bosporanus Zelenkov sp. nov., holotype PIN, no. 5644/1523, locality Tavrida Cave, Crimea, lower Pleistocene; (c, d) Pterocles orientalis (Linnaeus, 1758), osteological collection of PIN, specimen no. 89-7-1, extant; (e, f) Syrrhaptes paradoxus (Pallas, 1773), osteological collection of PIN, specimen no. 89-2-4, extant (a, c, e—from the cranial side; b, d, f—from
the distal side). Designations: ce, canalis extensorius; cl, condylus lateralis; cm, condylus medialis; da, distal aperture of canalis extensorius; ii, incisura intercondylaris; tct, trochlea cartilaginis tibialis.

 

[Fred Ruhe]

Correction

"Description The condyles of the tibiotarsus are close to one another and form a single blocklike
proximodistally narrow articular surface; the medial condyle has a pointed apex, distinctly protruding
more proximally than the lateral condyle; the distal"

Read:

Description The condyles of the tibiotarsus are close to one another and form a single blocklike
proximodistally narrow articular surface; the medial condyle has a pointed apex, distinctly protruding
more proximally than the lateral condyle; the distal aperture of the canalis extensorius is close to the condyles; in distal view, the distal end is slightly compressed mediolaterally (fairly wide), the medial condyle protrudes medially relative to the trochlea cartilaginis tibialis.

Fred