Post by Eaglehawk on Sept 18, 2019 9:52:41 GMT
Protodontopteryx ruthae
Temporal range: Early Paleocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Superorder: Galloanserae
Clade: Odontoanserae
Order: †Odontopterygiformes Howard, 1957
Family: †Pelagornithidae Fürbringer, 1888
Genus: †Protodontopteryx
Species: †Protodontopteryx ruthae
Protodontopteryx is a member of the family Pelagornithidae. Genus includes new species P. ruthae.
The Pelagornithidae, commonly called pelagornithids, pseudodontorns, bony-toothed birds, false-toothed birds or pseudotooth birds, are a prehistoric family of large seabirds. Their fossil remains have been found all over the world in rocks dating between the Late Paleocene and the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary.
Most of the common names refer to these birds' most notable trait: tooth-like points on their beak's edges, which, unlike true teeth, contained Volkmann's canals and were outgrowths of the premaxillary and mandibular bones. Even "small" species of pseudotooth birds were the size of albatrosses; the largest ones had wingspans estimated at 5–6 metres (15–20 ft) and were among the largest flying birds ever to live. They were the dominant seabirds of most oceans throughout most of the Cenozoic, and modern humans apparently missed encountering them only by a tiny measure of evolutionary time: the last known pelagornithids were contemporaries of Homo habilis and the beginning of the history of technology.
Scientists discover one of world's oldest bird species at Waipara, New Zealand
by Canterbury Museum
'Protodontopteryx' fossil showing the bony, tooth-like projections on the bird’s beak. Credit: Canterbury Museum. Image Available CC BY NC and for News and Current Affairs Use
The ancestor of some of the largest flying birds ever has been found in Waipara, North Canterbury.
Bony-toothed birds (Pelagornithids), an ancient family of huge seafaring birds, were thought to have evolved in the Northern Hemisphere—but that theory has been upended by the discovery of the family's oldest, but smallest member in New Zealand.
At 62 million-years-old, the newly-discovered Protodontopteryx ruthae, is one of the oldest named bird species in the world. It lived in New Zealand soon after the dinosaurs died out.
While its descendants were some of the biggest flying birds ever, with wingspans of more than 5 meters, Protodontopteryx ruthae was only the size of an average gull. Like other members of its family, the seabird had bony, tooth-like projections on the edge of its beak.
The seabird fossil was identified by the same team that recently announced the discovery of a 1.6 meter-high giant penguin from the same site.
Amateur paleontologist Leigh Love found the partial Protodontopteryx skeleton last year at the Waipara Greensand fossil site. The bird was named Protodontopteryx ruthae after Love's wife Ruth. Love wanted to thank her for tolerating his decades-long passion for paleontology.
Fellow amateur Alan Mannering prepared the bones, and a team comprising Love, Mannering, Canterbury Museum Curators Dr. Paul Scofield and Dr. Vanesa De Pietri and Dr. Gerald Mayr of Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum in Frankfurt, Germany, described Protodontopteryx.
Dr. Scofield says the age of the fossilized bones suggests pelagornithids evolved in the Southern Hemisphere. "While this bird was relatively small, the impact of its discovery is hugely significant in our understanding of this family. Until we found this skeleton, all the really old pelagornithids had been found in the Northern Hemisphere, so everyone thought they'd evolved up there."
"New Zealand was a very different place when Protodontoperyx were in the skies. It had a tropical climate—the sea temperature was about 25 degrees so we had corals and giant turtles," he adds.
Dr. Mayr says the discovery of Protodontopteryx was "truly amazing and unexpected. Not only is the fossil one of the most complete specimens of a pseudotoothed bird, but it also shows a number of unexpected skeletal features that contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of these enigmatic birds."
Later pelagornithid species evolved to soar over oceans with some species measuring up to 6.4 meters across the wings.
Protodontopteryxs' skeleton suggests it was less suited for long-distance soaring than later pelagornithids and probably covered much shorter ranges. Its short, broad pseudoteeth were likely designed for catching fish. Later species had needle-like pseudoteeth which were likely used to catch soft-bodied prey like squid.
'Protodontopteryx ruthae'. Illustration by Derek Onley. Credit: Canterbury Museum. Image Available CC BY NC and for News and Current Affairs Use
Dr. De Pietri says "because Protodontopteryx was less adapted to sustained soaring than other known pelagornithids, we can now say that pseudoteeth evolved before these birds became highly specialized gliders."
The last pelagornithid species died out around 2.5 million years ago, just before modern humans evolved.
The Waipara Greensand site where the Protodontopteryx skeleton was found has yielded several important scientific discoveries in recent years, including ancient penguins and the world's oldest tropicbird fossil.
Some of these discoveries, including the Protodontopteryx fossil, will be displayed in an exhibition about ancient New Zealand at the Museum later this year.
This research was funded by the Royal Society of New Zealand's Marsden Fund and is published today in the journal Papers in Palaeontology.
phys.org/news/2019-09-scientists-world-oldest-bird-species.html
Journal Reference:
Gerald Mayr, Vanesa L. De Pietri, Leigh Love, Al Mannering and Richard Paul Scofield. 2019. Oldest, Smallest and Phylogenetically Most Basal Pelagornithid, from the early Paleocene of New Zealand, Sheds Light on the Evolutionary History of the Largest Flying Birds. Papers in Palaeontology. DOI: 10.1002/spp2.1284
Abstract
The Cenozoic Pelagornithidae, or pseudotoothed birds, are characterized by unique bony projections along the cutting edges of the beak. These birds were previously known from late Paleocene to Pliocene fossil sites and some species reached wingspans up to 6.4 m. Here we describe a partial skeleton of a small‐sized pelagornithid from the early Paleocene of New Zealand. Protodontopteryx ruthae gen. et sp. nov. is the oldest record of the clade, the smallest known species, and the first pre‐Eocene pelagornithid from the Southern Hemisphere. The skull of the new species exhibits the characteristic pelagornithid morphology, but the postcranial skeleton distinctly differs from other pelagornithids, and various plesiomorphic features indicate that it is the earliest‐diverging representative of the Pelagornithidae. The much stouter humerus suggests that the new species was less adapted to sustained soaring than previously known pelagornithids. Pseudoteeth therefore evolved before pelagornithids became highly specialized gliders. Unlike the giant Neogene pelagornithid species, which presumably were skimmers, early Paleocene pelagornithids are likely to have targeted selected prey items and may have been predominantly piscivorous. The new species furthermore suggests that pelagornithids evolved in the Southern Hemisphere and documents a very early radiation of neornithine seabirds, which may have been triggered by changes in marine ecosystems around the K–Pg boundary.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/spp2.1284
Temporal range: Early Paleocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Superorder: Galloanserae
Clade: Odontoanserae
Order: †Odontopterygiformes Howard, 1957
Family: †Pelagornithidae Fürbringer, 1888
Genus: †Protodontopteryx
Species: †Protodontopteryx ruthae
Protodontopteryx is a member of the family Pelagornithidae. Genus includes new species P. ruthae.
The Pelagornithidae, commonly called pelagornithids, pseudodontorns, bony-toothed birds, false-toothed birds or pseudotooth birds, are a prehistoric family of large seabirds. Their fossil remains have been found all over the world in rocks dating between the Late Paleocene and the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary.
Most of the common names refer to these birds' most notable trait: tooth-like points on their beak's edges, which, unlike true teeth, contained Volkmann's canals and were outgrowths of the premaxillary and mandibular bones. Even "small" species of pseudotooth birds were the size of albatrosses; the largest ones had wingspans estimated at 5–6 metres (15–20 ft) and were among the largest flying birds ever to live. They were the dominant seabirds of most oceans throughout most of the Cenozoic, and modern humans apparently missed encountering them only by a tiny measure of evolutionary time: the last known pelagornithids were contemporaries of Homo habilis and the beginning of the history of technology.
Scientists discover one of world's oldest bird species at Waipara, New Zealand
by Canterbury Museum
'Protodontopteryx' fossil showing the bony, tooth-like projections on the bird’s beak. Credit: Canterbury Museum. Image Available CC BY NC and for News and Current Affairs Use
The ancestor of some of the largest flying birds ever has been found in Waipara, North Canterbury.
Bony-toothed birds (Pelagornithids), an ancient family of huge seafaring birds, were thought to have evolved in the Northern Hemisphere—but that theory has been upended by the discovery of the family's oldest, but smallest member in New Zealand.
At 62 million-years-old, the newly-discovered Protodontopteryx ruthae, is one of the oldest named bird species in the world. It lived in New Zealand soon after the dinosaurs died out.
While its descendants were some of the biggest flying birds ever, with wingspans of more than 5 meters, Protodontopteryx ruthae was only the size of an average gull. Like other members of its family, the seabird had bony, tooth-like projections on the edge of its beak.
The seabird fossil was identified by the same team that recently announced the discovery of a 1.6 meter-high giant penguin from the same site.
Amateur paleontologist Leigh Love found the partial Protodontopteryx skeleton last year at the Waipara Greensand fossil site. The bird was named Protodontopteryx ruthae after Love's wife Ruth. Love wanted to thank her for tolerating his decades-long passion for paleontology.
Fellow amateur Alan Mannering prepared the bones, and a team comprising Love, Mannering, Canterbury Museum Curators Dr. Paul Scofield and Dr. Vanesa De Pietri and Dr. Gerald Mayr of Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum in Frankfurt, Germany, described Protodontopteryx.
Dr. Scofield says the age of the fossilized bones suggests pelagornithids evolved in the Southern Hemisphere. "While this bird was relatively small, the impact of its discovery is hugely significant in our understanding of this family. Until we found this skeleton, all the really old pelagornithids had been found in the Northern Hemisphere, so everyone thought they'd evolved up there."
"New Zealand was a very different place when Protodontoperyx were in the skies. It had a tropical climate—the sea temperature was about 25 degrees so we had corals and giant turtles," he adds.
Dr. Mayr says the discovery of Protodontopteryx was "truly amazing and unexpected. Not only is the fossil one of the most complete specimens of a pseudotoothed bird, but it also shows a number of unexpected skeletal features that contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of these enigmatic birds."
Later pelagornithid species evolved to soar over oceans with some species measuring up to 6.4 meters across the wings.
Protodontopteryxs' skeleton suggests it was less suited for long-distance soaring than later pelagornithids and probably covered much shorter ranges. Its short, broad pseudoteeth were likely designed for catching fish. Later species had needle-like pseudoteeth which were likely used to catch soft-bodied prey like squid.
'Protodontopteryx ruthae'. Illustration by Derek Onley. Credit: Canterbury Museum. Image Available CC BY NC and for News and Current Affairs Use
Dr. De Pietri says "because Protodontopteryx was less adapted to sustained soaring than other known pelagornithids, we can now say that pseudoteeth evolved before these birds became highly specialized gliders."
The last pelagornithid species died out around 2.5 million years ago, just before modern humans evolved.
The Waipara Greensand site where the Protodontopteryx skeleton was found has yielded several important scientific discoveries in recent years, including ancient penguins and the world's oldest tropicbird fossil.
Some of these discoveries, including the Protodontopteryx fossil, will be displayed in an exhibition about ancient New Zealand at the Museum later this year.
This research was funded by the Royal Society of New Zealand's Marsden Fund and is published today in the journal Papers in Palaeontology.
phys.org/news/2019-09-scientists-world-oldest-bird-species.html
Journal Reference:
Gerald Mayr, Vanesa L. De Pietri, Leigh Love, Al Mannering and Richard Paul Scofield. 2019. Oldest, Smallest and Phylogenetically Most Basal Pelagornithid, from the early Paleocene of New Zealand, Sheds Light on the Evolutionary History of the Largest Flying Birds. Papers in Palaeontology. DOI: 10.1002/spp2.1284
Abstract
The Cenozoic Pelagornithidae, or pseudotoothed birds, are characterized by unique bony projections along the cutting edges of the beak. These birds were previously known from late Paleocene to Pliocene fossil sites and some species reached wingspans up to 6.4 m. Here we describe a partial skeleton of a small‐sized pelagornithid from the early Paleocene of New Zealand. Protodontopteryx ruthae gen. et sp. nov. is the oldest record of the clade, the smallest known species, and the first pre‐Eocene pelagornithid from the Southern Hemisphere. The skull of the new species exhibits the characteristic pelagornithid morphology, but the postcranial skeleton distinctly differs from other pelagornithids, and various plesiomorphic features indicate that it is the earliest‐diverging representative of the Pelagornithidae. The much stouter humerus suggests that the new species was less adapted to sustained soaring than previously known pelagornithids. Pseudoteeth therefore evolved before pelagornithids became highly specialized gliders. Unlike the giant Neogene pelagornithid species, which presumably were skimmers, early Paleocene pelagornithids are likely to have targeted selected prey items and may have been predominantly piscivorous. The new species furthermore suggests that pelagornithids evolved in the Southern Hemisphere and documents a very early radiation of neornithine seabirds, which may have been triggered by changes in marine ecosystems around the K–Pg boundary.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/spp2.1284
