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A goose-sized anseriform bird from the late Oligocene of France: the youngest record and largest species of Romainvilliinae

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Abstract

We describe a new anseriform bird from the late Oligocene of Saint-André, Marseille, in southern France. Saintandrea chenoides, gen. et sp. nov. is the first avian species reported from the locality, which is well known for its mammalian fossils. The new species belongs to the extinct Romainvilliinae and represents the latest occurrence of the taxon, which was before only known from the late Eocene and early Oligocene of Europe. S. chenoides is also the largest species of Romainvilliinae and increases the known morphological diversity of the taxon. The identification of a goose-sized representative of the Romainvilliinae in the late Oligocene of Europe raises the possibility that some of the large late Paleogene or early Neogene Anseriformes with uncertain phylogenetic affinities also belong to this taxon.

Kurzfassung

Wir beschreiben einen anseriformen Vogel aus dem späten Oligozän von Saint-André, Marseille, in Südfrankreich. Saintandrea chenoides, gen. et sp. nov. ist die erste Vogelart von dieser für ihre Säugetierfossilien bekannten Fundstelle. Die neue Art gehört zu dem ausgestorbenen Taxon Romainvilliinae und stellt den spätesten Nachweis dieses Taxons dar, welches zuvor nur aus dem späten Eozän und frühen Oligozän bekannt war. S. chenoides ist zudem der größte Vertreter der Romainvilliinae und erhöht die bekannte morphologische Diversität des Taxons. Identifikation eines gänsegroßen Vertreters der Romainvilliinae im späten Oligozän Europas wirft die Möglichkeit auf, dass andere große Anseriformes aus dem späten Paläogen und frühen Neogen, deren phylogenetische Stellung unsicher ist, ebenfalls zu diesem Taxon gehören.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Loic Costeur for access to the fossil material and Markus Weick for preparation of the bones, which were badly affected by pyrite decay. We are further indebted to Thierry Smith and Annelise Folie for access to specimens in IRSNB, and to the reviewers, Trevor Worthy and Cécile Mourer-Chauviré, for comments, which improved the manuscript. The work of VLD was supported by the Forschung und Lehre (Natural History Museum Basel) fund.

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  1. Sektion Ornithologie, Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Gerald Mayr

  2. Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Geowissenschaften, Augustinergasse 2, 4001, Basel, Switzerland

    Vanesa L. De Pietri

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  1. Gerald Mayr
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  2. Vanesa L. De Pietri
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Correspondence to Gerald Mayr.

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Mayr, G., De Pietri, V.L. A goose-sized anseriform bird from the late Oligocene of France: the youngest record and largest species of Romainvilliinae. Paläontol Z 87, 423–430 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-013-0165-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-013-0165-5

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