The first Palaeogene galliform from Africa

Abstract

An almost complete tarsometatarsus from the middle Eocene locality of Silica South, Sperrgebiet, Namibia, is attributed to the order Galliformes. This is the earliest record of the order in Africa. It belongs to a stem group galliform and differs from the Recent families. It is compared with Mesozoic birds from America, and Gallinuloididae, Quercymegapodiidae and Paraortygidae from Europe and the Americas. Because the specimen is an isolated bone, damaged proximally, we do not attribute it to a family, but it is clear that it represents a new genus and species of galliform bird, which we name Namaortyx sperrgebietensis.

A new genus and species of a galliform bird from the Oligocene of Poland

“…According to Mayr (2005Mayr ( , 2009, Ludiortyx hoffmanni from the late Eocene of the Paris Gypsum probably also belongs to Quercymegapodiidae. Moreover, a number of galliform species comparable in size to a quail have been described from Europe, Africa, and North America, although their systematic affinities are still uncertain (e.g., Mayr, 2009;Mourer-Chauviré et al, 2011.…”

First discovery of avian egg and bone remains (Presbyornithidae) from the Gour Lazib (Eocene, Algeria)

“…These characteristics correspond to a Galliform, and in particular, the shape of the hypotarsus resembles that of the basal Galliformes, such as Megapodiidae (Mayr, 2016). Some Galliformes have been described in the Eocene of Africa, in Namibia (Mourer-Chauviré et al, 2011a, 2017, and in Tunisia (Mourer-Chauviré et al, 2013), but in these different localities the proximal part of the tarsometatarsus is unknown. This tarsometatarsus cannot belong to a Presbyornithidae since they do not have a wide closed canal for the tendon of the muscle flexor digitorum longus (Howard, 1955;De Pietri et al, 2016, Fig.…”

New remains of the very small cuckoo,Chambicuculus pusillus (Aves, Cuculiformes, Cuculidae) from the late Early/early Middle Eocene of Djebel Chambi, Tunisia

“…The Phorusrhacidae were giant flightless birds mainly known in South America. In Namibia, the locality of Silica South, previously dated from the early Middle Eocene, now considered as late Middle Eocene (Bartonian) (Pickford et al, 2014), has yielded the remains of a stem galliform, Namaortyx sperrgebietensis (Mourer-Chauviré et al, 2011a). Also situated in Namibia, and also dated from the late Middle Eocene, the locality of Eocliff has yielded several remains of a galliform, Scopelortyx klinghardtensis, and of a psittaciform, Namapsitta praeruptorum (Mourer-Chauviré et al, 2015).…”