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Information about Presbyornis

Presbyornis
Fossil range: Late Paleocene -? Early Oligocene
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Presbyornithidae
Genus:Presbyornis
Wetmore, 1926
Species


Presbyornis pervetus (type)
Presbyornis recurvirostris (disputed)
Presbyornis isoni
Synonyms


Nautilornis Wetmore, 1926
Coltonia Hardy, 1959
Presbyornis is an extinct genus of anseriform bird. It contains two unequivocally accepted species, the well-known P. pervetus and the much lesser-known P. isoni. P. pervetus was approximately the size and shape of a goose, but with longer legs; P. isoni, known from a few bones, was much larger, more than swan-sized.

The fossil record of P. pervetus includes many complete skeletons from Green River Formation sites (Early Eocene), suggesting that the birds nested in colonies and possibly were liable to succumb to botulism, similar to many colony-nesting waterfowl or shorebirds today. P. isoni is known from the Late Paleocene Aquia Formation (Maryland, 61-62 MYA) humerus (USNM 294116) and a fingerbone (USNM 294117) that were initially described, as well as from the humeri that were initially believed to be from Headonornis (BMNH PAL 3686, 5105, 6240). As these are Late Eocene or even Early Oligocene (BMNH PAL 5105, Bembridge Marls) in age, they possibly belong to a distinct taxon. P. recurvirostris is a disputed species possibly synonymous with P. pervetus; it is known from a partial wing (KUVP 10105) found in Colton Formation Eocene sediments of the Wasatch Plateau near Ephraim, Utah. Undescribed fossils are also known from the Paleocene of Utah and possibly the Early Eocene of Mongolia (Kurochkin et al, 2002), and the coracoid still assigned to Headonornis (Dyke, 2001) may also belong into this genus.

Presbyornis was one of the first anseriforms. Because of its long legs and neck, Presbyornis was initially mistaken for a flamingo, but it was reclassified as an anseriform when the duck-like anatomy of its skull and bill was found. Later, it was believed to represent a transitional stage between the anseriforms and the shorebirds, but it is now considered a member of an extinct group of anseriforms which was most closely related to ducks and geese. Judging from numerous fossil findings, Presbyornis is presumed to have lived in colonies around shallow lakes. Its broad, flat bill was used to filter food (small plants and animals) from the water, in the manner of today's dabbling ducks.

References

  • Dyke, Gareth J. (2001): The Fossil Waterfowl (Aves: Anseriformes) from the Eocene of England. American Museum Novitates 3354: 1-15. PDF fulltext
  • Kurochkin, Evgeny N.; Dyke, Gareth J. & Karhu, Alexandr A. (2002): A New Presbyornithid Bird (Aves, Anseriformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Southern Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 3386: 1-11. PDF fulltext
  • Wetmore, Alexander (1926): Fossil birds from the Green River Deposits of Easter Utah. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 16: 391-402.

External links

The Thanetian (also known as the Landenian or Heersian) is the last stage of the Paleocene Epoch, corresponding to the Late Paleocene sub-epoch. It spans the time between 58.7 ± 0.2 Ma and 55.8 ± 0.2 Ma (million years ago).
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The Rupelian (also known as Stampian, Tongrian, Latdorfian, Vicksburgian, or Early Oligocene) is the first of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch. It spans the time between 33.9 ± 0.1 Ma and 28.4 ± 0.1 Ma (million years ago).
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conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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For other uses of the term, see Fossil (disambiguation)


FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under the DOS operating system.
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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Aves
Linnaeus, 1758

Orders

About two dozen - see section below

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals.
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Anseriformes
Wagler, 1831

Families
  • Anhimidae
  • Anseranatidae
  • Anatidae
  • †Dromornithidae
  • †Presbyornithidae
  • †Gastornidae(?)


The order Anseriformes
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Presbyornithidae
Wetmore, 1926

Genera

see text

Presbyornithidae were a family of waterbirds with an apparently global distribution that lived until the Earliest Oligocene, but are now extinct.
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Frank Alexander Wetmore
Born May 18 1886(1886--)
North Freedom, Wisconsin
Died November 7 1978 (aged 92)
Glen Echo, Maryland
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1890s  1900s  1910s  - 1920s -  1930s  1940s  1950s
1923 1924 1925 - 1926 - 1927 1928 1929

Year 1926 (MCMXXVI
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In biology, a type is that which fixes a name to a taxon. Depending on the nomenclature code which is applied to the organism in question, a type may be a specimen, culture, illustration, description or taxon.
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In scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names used for a single taxon. Usage and terminology are different for zoology and botany.

Zoology

In zoological nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names that pertain to the same taxon, for example
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Frank Alexander Wetmore
Born May 18 1886(1886--)
North Freedom, Wisconsin
Died November 7 1978 (aged 92)
Glen Echo, Maryland
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1890s  1900s  1910s  - 1920s -  1930s  1940s  1950s
1923 1924 1925 - 1926 - 1927 1928 1929

Year 1926 (MCMXXVI
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20th century - 21st century
1920s  1930s  1940s  - 1950s -  1960s  1970s  1980s
1956 1957 1958 - 1959 - 1960 1961 1962

Year 1959 (MCMLIX
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species is one of the basic units of biological classification. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
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Goose (plural geese, male gander(s)) is the English name for a considerable number of birds, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than geese, and ducks, which are smaller.
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Cygnus
Bechstein, 1803

Species

6-7 living, see text.
Synonyms

Cygnanser Kretzoi, 1957

Swans are large water birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks.
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The Green River Formation is an Eocene geologic formation that records the sedimentation in a series of intermontane lakes. The sedimentary layers were formed in a large area of interconnecting lakes, named for the present-day Green River, a tributary of the Colorado River.
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The Eocene epoch (55.8 ± 0.2 - 33.9 ± 0.1 Ma) is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in the Cenozoic era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene epoch.
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Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans.

They are strong swimmers with medium to large bodies.
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Charadrii

Families
  • Ibidorhynchidae
  • Recurvirostridae
  • Haematopodidae
  • Charadriidae
Waders, called shorebirds in North America (where "wader" is used to refer to long-legged wading birds such as storks and herons), are members
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The Paleocene, "early dawn of the recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma to 55.8 ± 0.2 Ma (million years ago). It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic era.
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The Aquia Formation is a paleocene fossil site located near the Potomac River in Maryland and Virginia.

Flora and Fauna of the Aquia Formation

Sharks

  • Carcharias hopei
  • Cretolamna
  • Otodus obliquus

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State of Maryland

Flag of Maryland Seal
Nickname(s): Old Line State; Free State
Motto(s): Fatti maschii, parole femine
(Manly deeds, womanly words)

Official language(s) None (English, de facto
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mya or "m.y.a." is an abbreviation for million years ago. This abbreviation is commonly used as a unit of time to denote length of time before the present or "B.P." (before AD 1950). Specifically, one mya is equal to 106 years ago.
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Smithsonian Institution (pronounced [smɪθ.ˈso.ni.ˌən]) is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds
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Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London (the others are the Science Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum). Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road.
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