An avian femur from the Late Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula: removing the record of cursorial landbirds from the Mesozoic of Antarctica
In 2006, a partial avian femur (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM) 78247) from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Sandwich Bluff Member of the López de Bertodano Formation of Sandwich Bluff on Vega Island of the northern Antarctic Peninsula was briefly reported as that of a cariami...
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doaj-942b8bc5b85a4c189e95542a8771e2982020-11-25T01:40:27ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592019-07-017e723110.7717/peerj.7231An avian femur from the Late Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula: removing the record of cursorial landbirds from the Mesozoic of AntarcticaAbagael R. West0Christopher R. Torres1Judd A. Case2Julia A. Clarke3Patrick M. O'Connor4Matthew C. Lamanna5Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, USADepartment of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USADepartment of Biology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA, USADepartment of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USADepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH, USASection of Vertebrate Paleontology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, USAIn 2006, a partial avian femur (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM) 78247) from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Sandwich Bluff Member of the López de Bertodano Formation of Sandwich Bluff on Vega Island of the northern Antarctic Peninsula was briefly reported as that of a cariamiform—a clade that includes extant and volant South American species and many extinct flightless and cursorial species. Although other authors have since rejected this taxonomic assignment, SDSM 78247 had never been the subject of a detailed description, hindering a definitive assessment of its affinities. Here we provide the first comprehensive description, illustration, and comparative study of this specimen. Comparison of characters that may be assessed in this femur with those of avian taxa scored in published character matrices refutes the inclusion of SDSM 78247 within Cariamiformes, instead supporting its assignment to a new, as-yet unnamed large-bodied species within the genus Vegavis, and therefore its referral to a clade of semiaquatic anseriforms. Important character states diagnostic of Vegavis + Polarornis include strong craniocaudal bowing of the femoral shaft, the presence of a distinct fossa just proximal to the fibular trochlea, and the broad and flat shape of the patellar sulcus. Referral to Vegavis is based on the presence of a distinctive proximocaudal fossa and distolateral scar. This genus was previously known only from Vegavis iaai, a smaller-bodied taxon from the same locality and stratigraphic unit. Our reassignment of SDSM 78247 to Vegavis sp. removes the record of cariamiform landbirds from the Antarctic Cretaceous.https://peerj.com/articles/7231.pdfVegavisCretaceousAntarcticaFemurCariamiformesAnseriformes |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Abagael R. West Christopher R. Torres Judd A. Case Julia A. Clarke Patrick M. O'Connor Matthew C. Lamanna |
spellingShingle |
Abagael R. West Christopher R. Torres Judd A. Case Julia A. Clarke Patrick M. O'Connor Matthew C. Lamanna An avian femur from the Late Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula: removing the record of cursorial landbirds from the Mesozoic of Antarctica PeerJ Vegavis Cretaceous Antarctica Femur Cariamiformes Anseriformes |
author_facet |
Abagael R. West Christopher R. Torres Judd A. Case Julia A. Clarke Patrick M. O'Connor Matthew C. Lamanna |
author_sort |
Abagael R. West |
title |
An avian femur from the Late Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula: removing the record of cursorial landbirds from the Mesozoic of Antarctica |
title_short |
An avian femur from the Late Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula: removing the record of cursorial landbirds from the Mesozoic of Antarctica |
title_full |
An avian femur from the Late Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula: removing the record of cursorial landbirds from the Mesozoic of Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
An avian femur from the Late Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula: removing the record of cursorial landbirds from the Mesozoic of Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
An avian femur from the Late Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula: removing the record of cursorial landbirds from the Mesozoic of Antarctica |
title_sort |
avian femur from the late cretaceous of vega island, antarctic peninsula: removing the record of cursorial landbirds from the mesozoic of antarctica |
publisher |
PeerJ Inc. |
series |
PeerJ |
issn |
2167-8359 |
publishDate |
2019-07-01 |
description |
In 2006, a partial avian femur (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM) 78247) from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Sandwich Bluff Member of the López de Bertodano Formation of Sandwich Bluff on Vega Island of the northern Antarctic Peninsula was briefly reported as that of a cariamiform—a clade that includes extant and volant South American species and many extinct flightless and cursorial species. Although other authors have since rejected this taxonomic assignment, SDSM 78247 had never been the subject of a detailed description, hindering a definitive assessment of its affinities. Here we provide the first comprehensive description, illustration, and comparative study of this specimen. Comparison of characters that may be assessed in this femur with those of avian taxa scored in published character matrices refutes the inclusion of SDSM 78247 within Cariamiformes, instead supporting its assignment to a new, as-yet unnamed large-bodied species within the genus Vegavis, and therefore its referral to a clade of semiaquatic anseriforms. Important character states diagnostic of Vegavis + Polarornis include strong craniocaudal bowing of the femoral shaft, the presence of a distinct fossa just proximal to the fibular trochlea, and the broad and flat shape of the patellar sulcus. Referral to Vegavis is based on the presence of a distinctive proximocaudal fossa and distolateral scar. This genus was previously known only from Vegavis iaai, a smaller-bodied taxon from the same locality and stratigraphic unit. Our reassignment of SDSM 78247 to Vegavis sp. removes the record of cariamiform landbirds from the Antarctic Cretaceous. |
topic |
Vegavis Cretaceous Antarctica Femur Cariamiformes Anseriformes |
url |
https://peerj.com/articles/7231.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv |
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