Abstract
A skeleton of a chicken-sized crane precursor is described from the Lower Oligocene of the Lubéron in Southern France. Parvigrus pohli gen. et sp. nov. is the most substantial Paleogene fossil record of the Grues (Aramidae [limpkin] + Gruidae [cranes]), and among its oldest representatives. The fossil species is classified in the new taxon Parvigruidae, which is shown to be the sister group of extant Grues. It is the first fossil record of a stem lineage representative of the Grues and, among others, differs from modern Grues in its smaller size, shorter beak, and rail-like limb proportions. Size increase in the stem lineage of the Gruidae may be related to the spread of grasslands during the Oligocene and Miocene. Occurrence of stem lineage Grues in the Lower Oligocene of Europe is in concordance with the fact that there is no evidence for the presence of crown group members of modern avian “families” in pre-Oligocene fossil deposits.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Archibald GW, Meine CD (1996) Family Gruidae (cranes). In: del Hoyo J, Elliott A, Sargatal J (eds) Handbook of the birds of the world, vol 3. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, pp 60–89
Baumel JJ, Witmer LM (1993) Osteologia. In: Baumel JJ, King AS, Breazile JE, Evans HE, Vanden Berge JC (eds) Handbook of avian anatomy: Nomina anatomica avium. Pub Nuttall Ornithol Club, vol 23, pp 45–132
Cracraft J (1973) Systematics and evolution of the Gruiformes (Class Aves). 3. Phylogeny of the suborder Grues. Bull Am Mus Nat Hist 151:1–127
Fain MG, Houde P (2004) Parallel radiations in the primary clades of birds. Evolution 58:2558–2573
Feduccia A, Voorhies MR (1992) Crowned cranes (Gruidae: Balearica) in the Miocene of Nebraska. In: Campbell KE (ed) Papers in avian paleontology honoring Pierce Brodkorb, vol 36. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Science Series, Los Angeles, pp 239–248
Jacobs BF, Kingston JD, Jacobs LL (1999) The origin of grass-dominated ecosystems. Ann Missouri Bot Gard 86:590–643
Janis CM (1993) Tertiary mammal evolution in the context of changing climates, vegetation, and tectonic events. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 24:467–500
Krajewski C (1989) Phylogenetic relationships among cranes (Gruiformes: Gruidae) based on DNA hybridization. Auk 106:603–618
Livezey BC (1998) A phylogenetic analysis of the Gruiformes (Aves) based on morphological characters, with an emphasis on the rails (Rallidae). Phil Trans Roy Soc London B 353:2077–2151
Mayr G (2005) The Paleogene fossil record of birds in Europe. Biol Rev 80 (in press)
Mayr G, Clarke J (2003) The deep divergences of neornithine birds: a phylogenetic analysis of morphological characters. Cladistics 19:527–553
Mourer-Chauviré C (1996) Paleogene avian localities of France. In: Mlíkovský J (ed) Tertiary avian localities of Europe. Acta Univ Carol 39:567–598
Olson SL (1985) The fossil record of birds. In: Farner DS, King JR, Parkes KC (eds) Avian biology, vol 8. Academic Press, New York, pp 79–238
Stresemann E (1927–1934) Aves. In: Kükenthal W, Krumbach T (eds) Handbuch der Zoologie. de Gruyter, Berlin, pp 1–899
Wetmore A (1960) A classification for the birds of the world. Smithson Misc Coll 139(11):1–37
Acknowledgements
I thank B. Pohl for the loan of the fossil specimen, F. Escuillié for information on its collection history, P. Ericson and G. Frisk for making available a skeleton of modern Aramidae, and S. Tränkner for taking the photographs. The manuscript benefited from comments of three anonymous referees.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mayr, G. A chicken-sized crane precursor from the early Oligocene of France. Naturwissenschaften 92, 389–393 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-005-0007-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-005-0007-8