Strigogyps

Fossil of Strigogyps SAPEa from the Messel pit in the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt.

  • Germany ( Messel, Geisel, Eckfelder Maar )
  • France

Strigogyps is an extinct species of bird from the Paleogene. Fossils were found in the Messel Pit in Hesse, in the Geisel in Saxony- Anhalt, in the Phosphoritschichten of Quercy in southwestern France and the corner squares Maar Eifel in the southwest.

Features

Strigogyps was of medium height, resembling the smaller members of the Phorusrhaciden, a group of large, predatory wild birds from South America. The only insufficiently known head was probably more delicate than the Phorusrhaciden, reduces the wings and relatively small but not so ctark atrophied as in the Phorusrhaciden. Strigogyps was probably also incapable of flight or had only a very limited ability to fly. The cubit thick, shorter than the humerus and the ulna of Seriemas very similar. Opening out to the body end of the humerus was very narrow. The elbow was still strong, the hand skeleton was quite long. The legs were strong and provided with strong, raptor -like claws. The lateral condyle of a hinge barrel on the distal end of the shank bone, the side had a circular or near circular contour (similar Kagu ). The distance was less than the femur ( approximately 85%), and much shorter than the lower leg bone ( about 55 %). The Hypotarsus, the bony ridge at the back of the bird's foot was formed by two parallel ridges (similar to the Kagu ).

In the holotype of Strigogyps SAPEa ( Messel ) of the stomach is preserved fossil, and vegetable residues.

System

Strigogyps is classified in the Ameghinornithidae, a bird family was originally made ​​as a subfamily in the Phorusrhacidae. The Ameghinornithidae be the " cariamiden " associated with birds, a group of birds after the recent Seriemas ( Cariamidae ) was named and was made until recently most of subordination in the order of the Gruiformes ( Gruiformes ), but has since been elevated to the status of an order ( Cariamiformes ).

Two other genera of Ameghinornithidae, Aenigmavis and Ameghinornis were synonymized by Gerald Mayr Strigogyps.

Species

  • Strigogyps ( " Ameghinornis " ) dubius ( Quercy )
  • Strigogyps robustus ( Geisel )
  • Strigogyps ( " Aenigmavis " ) SAPEa ( Messel )
  • Strigogyps sp. ( undescribed species ) ( Eckfelder Maar )
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