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Grouse (Aves: Phasianidae: Tetraonini) from the Early Pleistocene of Crimea, and the Taxonomic Status of Lagopus atavus

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Abstract

Remains of Lyrurus partium Kretzoi, 1962 and “Lagopus” atavus Jánossy, 1974 (tribe Tetraonini, family Phasianidae, order Galliformes) are described from the Lower Pleistocene of the Taurida Cave (Crimea); these are the oldest finds of the grouse in Eurasia outside of Central and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Hungary, and Poland). The discovery of the primitive black grouse Lyrurus partium indicates that these birds were part of the savanna-like faunal associations of the Northern Black Sea region (along with Otididae and Struthionidae) in the Early Pleistocene. The origin and evolutionary history of the modern Caucasian black grouse T. mlokosiewiczi Taczanowski, 1875 is discussed. The complete tarsometatarsus of “Lagopus” atavus from the Taurida Cave indicates a separate generic status of this poorly studied Plio-Pleistocene form, which is here transferred to the genus Paralyra gen. nov. Therefore, the presence of ptarmigans (genus Lagopus) in the preglacial Plio-Pleistocene faunas of Eastern Europe is not confirmed.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author is grateful to Academician A.V. Lopatin and A.V. Lavrov (Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences), D.O. Gimranov (Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences), and D.B. Startsev (Vernadsky Crimean Federal University) for collecting and transferring bird fossil remains from the Taurida Cave, as well as to Z. Bocheński (Krakow) and L. Makadi (Budapest) for providing access to collections of fossil birds, Z. Boev (Sofia) for photographs of Tetraonini fossils, and Z. Boev and A.V. Panteleev for reviews.

Funding

This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant no. 22-14-00214, https://rscf.ru/project/22-14-00214/.

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    N. V. Zelenkov

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Zelenkov, N.V. Grouse (Aves: Phasianidae: Tetraonini) from the Early Pleistocene of Crimea, and the Taxonomic Status of Lagopus atavus. Paleontol. J. 58, 112–123 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030124010106

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