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A new duck from the Middle Miocene of Mongolia, with comments on Miocene evolution of ducks

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Abstract

A new relatively large duck, Chenoanas deserta gen. et sp. nov. from the Middle Miocene of the Sharga locality, which is morphologically intermediate between the extant genera Chenonetta and Tachyeres, is described. The diversity of Early and Middle Miocene ducks is discussed. It is noted that some Middle Miocene duck remains are incorrectly referred to the genus Mionetta. The distribution of morphological characters of the humerus in Neogene and extant ducks shows that the present day diversity of ducks apparently results from extinction of some taxa which were formed in the Oligocene-Early Miocene. The distribution of morphological characters in the evolution of diving ducks is evidence that not only the formation of different morphotypes but also so-called “evolutionary maturation” of taxa also explains the modern diversity.

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  1. Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya ul. 123, Moscow, 117997, Russia

    N. V. Zelenkov

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Original Russian Text © N.V. Zelenkov, 2012, published in Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal, 2012, No. 5, pp. 74–85.

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Zelenkov, N.V. A new duck from the Middle Miocene of Mongolia, with comments on Miocene evolution of ducks. Paleontol. J. 46, 520–530 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030112050139

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