Nikita V. Zelenkov

A new taxon of birds (Aves) from the Early Cretaceous of Western Siberia, Russia

In recent decades numerous findings, mostly from the Early Cretaceous of China, have changed traditional conceptions about the diversity and evolution of the most ancient Aves. Findings of Mesozoic birds in Russia are extremely rare. Here we describe a new bird from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian–Aptian, Ilekskaya Svita) Shestakovo-1 locality (southern Western Siberia, Russia), that has also yielded dinosaurs, mammals, crocodiles, pterosaurs and lizards. Mystiornis cyrili gen. et sp. nov. is based on an isolated metatarsus which displays a mosaic of morphological features allowing us to create a new order, Mystiornithiformes. Mystiornis has a fully consolidated (ornithurine-like) gracile metatarsus with a primitive coplanar arrangement of the metatarsals, three separate proximal articular facets, and a uniquely located distal interosseal canal. It also displays diving adaptations previously documented only in Ornithurae.

A confuciusornithiform (Aves, Pygostylia)-like tarsometatarsus from the Early Cretaceous of Siberia and a discussion of the evolution of avian hind limb musculature

ABSTRACT We describe a new isolated tarsometatarsus from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian—Aptian) Ilek Formation Shestakovo-3 locality in western Siberia. The new specimen represents a new taxon, Evgenavis nobilis, gen. et sp. nov., significantly increasing the Mesozoic avifauna from Russia. The specimen shares morphologies with a number of basal ornithothoracine taxa, but shows most similarity to the basal pygostylian Confuciusornis sanctus, the oldest known beaked bird and most common taxon from the Yixian Formation. Evgenavis may represent the first record of Confuciusornithiformes outside of the Jehol Group and its equivalent deposits. However, this is not supported by cladistic analysis, which weakly resolves the new species and Mystiornis both within the diverse Enantiornithes, indicating that additional material is required to assess the systematic position of Evgenavis nobilis (Aves incertae sedis). The three-dimensional preservation of the specimen allows for a partial reconstruction of the pedal musculature, revealing a primitive stage in the evolution of the neornithine condition.

The unexpected survival of an ancient lineage of anseriform birds into the Neogene of Australia: the youngest record of Presbyornithidae

Presbyornithids were the dominant birds in Palaeogene lacustrine assemblages, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, but are thought to have disappeared worldwide by the mid-Eocene. Now classified within Anseriformes (screamers, ducks, swans and geese), their relationships have long been obscured by their strange wader-like skeletal morphology. Reassessment of the late Oligocene South Australian material attributed to Wilaru tedfordi, long considered to be of a stone-curlew (Burhinidae, Charadriiformes), reveals that this taxon represents the first record of a presbyornithid in Australia. We also describe the larger Wilaru prideauxi sp. nov. from the early Miocene of South Australia, showing that presbyornithids survived in Australia at least until ca 22 Ma. Unlike on other continents, where presbyornithids were replaced by aquatic crown-group anatids (ducks, swans and geese), species of Wilaru lived alongside these waterfowl in Australia. The morphology of the tarsometatarsus of these species indicates that, contrary to other presbyornithids, they were predominantly terrestrial birds, which probably contributed to their long-term survival in Australia. The morphological similarity between species of Wilaru and the Eocene South American presbyornithid Telmabates antiquus supports our hypothesis of a Gondwanan radiation during the evolutionary history of the Presbyornithidae. Teviornis gobiensis from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia is here also reassessed and confirmed as a presbyornithid. These findings underscore the temporal continuance of Australia’s vertebrates and provide a new context in which the phylogeny and evolutionary history of presbyornithids can be examined.

Three bird taxa (Aves: Anatidae, Phasianidae, Scolopacidae) from the Late Miocene of the Sea of Azov (Southwestern Russia)

European Late Miocene avian faunas are very insufficiently known. Until now, no Mio-Pliocene birds have been described from the eastern part of the Eastern Paratethys, and the entire record of birds from the Eastern Paratethys is restricted to several poorly described taxa from Ukraine and Moldova. Here we describe the remains of three bird species from the recently discovered Late Miocene vertebrate locality Morskaya-2, which has yielded the first known avian fauna of this age in the European part of Russia and also the easternmost Neogene avian fauna in Europe. The three taxa represent the families Phasianidae, Anatidae and Scolopacidae, which have not been documented from the Miocene of the Eastern Paratethys before. A small quail from Morskaya is assigned to Plioperdix hungarica comb. nov., which was previously known from the Late Miocene of Hungary. We show that the morphology of the acrocoracoid process of the coracoid is very diagnostic in phasianids and fits the molecular phylogeny of the family relatively well. Apomorphic characters indicate that Plioperdix is a sister taxon of the extant genus Coturnix. A medium-sized duck is assigned to the genus Anas s.s. and described as a new species, A. kurochkini sp. nov. Although metrically close to S. clypeata, this duck is morphologically distinct from all extant dabbling ducks. The presence of the quail and the duck indicates a certain degree of similarity between the avian faunas across the northern borders of the Central and Eastern Paratethys in the latest Miocene. The third reported taxon is a large snipe, which is described here as Gallinago azovica sp. nov.KurzfassungEuropäische Avifaunen des späten Miozäns sind nur sehr ungenügend bekannt. Es sind bisher keine Nachweise von mio-pliozänen Vogelresten aus dem östlichen Teil der Ost-Paratethys beschrieben worden. Die komplette Überlieferung fossiler Vögel aus der östlichen Paratethys beschränkt sich auf einige, sehr dürftig beschriebene Taxa aus der Ukraine und aus Moldavien. Es werden Reste von drei Vogelarten aus der kürzlich entdeckten, obermiozänen Vertebratenfundstelle Morskaya-2 beschreiben. Diese Lokalität lieferte den Erstnachweis einer Avifauna aus dieser Zeit des Europäischen Teils von Russland und zugleich die östlichste in Europa gefundene Avifauna aus dem Neogen. Die drei beschriebenen Taxa repräsentieren die Familien Phasianidae, Anatidae und Scolopacidae, welche bisher aus dem Neogen der östlichen Paratethys unbekannt waren. Eine kleine Wachtel von Morskaya wird als Plioperdix hungaricus comb. nov. bestimmt, welche bereits aus dem späten Miozän von Ungarn bekannt ist. Wir zeigen, dass die Morphologie des Processus acrocoracoides des Coracoids ein gutes diagnostisches Merkmal der Phasanidae darstellt und relativ gut mit der molekularen Phylogenie dieser Familie korreliert. Die apomorphen Merkmale weisen darauf hin, das Plioperdix ein Schwester-Taxon der noch vorhandenen Gattung Coturnix darstellt. Ein mittelgroßer Vertreter der Entenvögel wird der Gattung Anas s.s. zugeordnet und als neue Art A. kurochkini nov. sp. beschrieben. Obwohl die metrischen Daten diese Art auch annähernd zu S. clypeata passen, unterscheidet sich dieser Entenvogel jedoch morphologisch von allen vorhandenen Vertretern dieser Gattung. Das Auftreten von Wachtel- und Entenvögeln deutet zuverlässig auf eine Ähnlichkeit der spätmiozänen Avifaunen über die nördlichen Grenzen der Zentral und Östlichen Paratethys hin. Das dritte überlieferte Taxon, eine große Schnepfe, wird als Gallinago azovica nov. sp. beschrieben.

Late Miocene buttonquails (Charadriiformes, Turnicidae) from the temperate zone of Eurasia

The evolutionary history of the extant buttonquails (family Turnicidae) is poorly known. The Oligocene stem representatives of the family differ significantly morphologically from the extant members of Turnicidae and presumably had different ecology and lifestyle. Until now, the only pre-Pleistocene record of the crown-group buttonquails was a find in the Pliocene of South Africa—within the modern distribution range of the group. Here we describe remains of the modern-type Turnicidae from the late Miocene of Hungary, Southern Ukraine, and Northern Kazakhstan. These finds show that Turnicidae, which nowadays are restricted to the subtropical and tropical regions, had much wider geographical distribution in the late Miocene. This range expansion might have been related to the wide spread of the open and arid landscapes during the late Miocene. Importantly, all remains described herein are morphologically similar to the living genus Ortyxelos, which has been considered primitive and now inhabits arid landscapes in Africa. The genus Ortyxelos is thus likely yet another (along with ostrich and some mammals) taxon which now inhabits sub-Saharan Africa, but once had a much wider distribution across Eurasia.ZusammenfassungLaufhühnchen (Charadriiformes, Turnicidae) aus dem späten Miozän der gemäßigten Breiten Eurasiens. Über die Evolutionsgeschichte der Laufhühnchen (Familie Turnicidae) ist nur wenig bekannt Die oligozänen Stammformen der Familie unterscheiden sich morphologisch deutlich von den rezenten Vertretern der Turnicidae und besaßen vermutlich eine andere Ökologie und Lebensweise. Bis vor kurzem war ein Fund aus dem Pliozän Südafrikas-innerhalb des heutigen Verbreitungsgebietes der Gruppe-der einzige prä-pleistozäne Nachweis der Laufhühnchen-Kronengruppe. Hier beschreiben wir Fossilien vom Typ der modernen Turniciden aus dem späten Miozän aus Ungarn, der Südukraine und aus Nordkasachstan. Diese Funde zeigen, dass die Turniciden, welche heute auf tropische und subtropische Regionen beschränkt sind, im Spätmiozän deutlich weiter verbreitet waren. Diese Arealerweiterung könnte mit der großen Ausdehnung offener und arider Landschaftstypen während des Spätmiozäns zusammenhängen. Es ist von Bedeutung, dass alle hier beschriebenen Fossilien morphologisch der Gattung Ortyxelos ähneln, welche als ursprünglich gilt und heute aride Landstriche in Afrika bewohnt. Somit ist die Gattung Ortyxelos (neben Afrikanischem Strauß und einigen Säugetieren) ein weiteres Taxon, welches heute das subsaharische Afrika besiedelt, einst aber viel weiter über Eurasien verbreitet war.

The first fossil parrot (Aves, Psittaciformes) from Siberia and its implications for the historical biogeography of Psittaciformes

Modern parrots (crown Psittaciformes) are a species-rich group of mostly tropical and subtropical birds with a very limited fossil record. A partial tarsometatarsus from the late Early Miocene of Siberia (Baikal Lake) is the first pre-Quaternary find of crown Psittaciformes in Asia (and Siberia in particular) and is also the northern-most find of this bird order worldwide. This find documents a broad geographical distribution of parrots during the warmest phase of the Miocene (the so-called ‘Miocene Climatic Optimum’), which has implications for the historical biogeography of Psittaciformes. The presence of parrots on both sides of the Pacific Ocean at the end of the Early Miocene implies a (most probably eastwards) trans-Beringian dispersal which likely took place about 16–18 Ma. The broad Eurasian distribution of parrots in the past further supports a hypothesis that ancestors of modern genera Coracopsis and Agapornis could reach Africa from Eurasia.

A primitive heron (Aves: Ardeidae) from the Miocene of Central Asia

A robust quadrate from the Middle Miocene of Mongolia represents a new genus of Ardeidae that combines the similarities to Nycticorax and Tigrisoma, both of which have been recovered in basal positions in recent phylogenies of the Ardeidae, and to cf. Pikaihao from the Middle Miocene of Africa. The confluence of mandibular facets on the medial condyle and pterygoid condyle in the new genus, Nycticorax, and cf. Pikaihao is likely to be symplesiomorphic, as it is shared with nearly all other waterbirds (except for the Ciconiidae), including the immediate outgroup (Threskiornithidae). However, the medial supraorbital crest is a likely synapomorphy of the new genus and cf. Pikaihao. The similarities to Trigrisoma support its basal position, as recovered from molecular sequences and proposed by a pre-cladistic morphological analysis. Since both the night herons and Tigrisoma have heads that are proportionally much larger than those of the large day herons, it appears that the Ardeidae started their evolution with relatively heavy heads, which may have contributed to the origins of the family-specific head retraction in flight.ZusammenfassungEin primitiver Reiher (Aves: Ardeidae) aus dem Miozän Zentralasiens Aufgrund eines robusten Quadratums aus dem Mittel-Miozän der Mongolei wird eine neue Art und Gattung der Ardeidae erstellt. Das Quadratum verbindet die Merkmale von Tigerreihern (Tigrisoma) und Nachtreihern (besonders Nycticorax), die wiederholt in basalen Stellungen in Stammbäumen der Ardeidae resultierten, als auch von cf. Pikaihao aus dem Mittel-Miozän Afrikas. Das Verschmelzen der Mandibularfazetten auf dem condylus mandibularis medialis und condylus pterygoideus, wie auch bei Nycticorax und cf. Pikaihao, weist auf einen primitiven Vertreter der Ardeidae hin weil es dem ganzen Stamm der Wasservögel (bis auf Ciconiidae) eigen ist und auch bei der unmittelbaren Außengruppe (Threskiornithidae) vorkommt. Jedoch erscheint die crista suprorbitalis medialis als eine Synapomorphie der Nyctisoma und cf. Pikaihao. Die Gemeisamkeiten mit Tigrisoma dagegen erweisen sich eher als symplesiomorph und bestätigen die basale Stellung von Tigerreihern, die von einer prä-kladistischen Analyse und einer Molekularphylogenie nicht aber von den rezenten kladistischen, aufgrund der morphologischen Merkmalen berechneten Stammbäumen festgestellt wurde. Sowohl bei den Tigerreihern als auch bei den Nachtreihern sind die Köpfe relativ größer als bei den großen Tagreihern, was darauf hindeutet, dass der Kopf auch bei den ancestralen Ardeidae relativ schwer war und damit zur Entstehung der S-förmigen Halsbeugung im Fluge beitragen konnte.

A new species of Aegypius vulture from the early Pliocene of Moldova is the earliest unequivocal evidence of Aegypiinae in Europe

An isolated, well-preserved tarsometatarsus of a huge aegypiine vulture from the early Pliocene (MN 15) of Pelinei, Moldova was originally described as Aegypius melitensis (Lydekker, 1890) by Tugarinov (1940:199). It was listed under Gyps melitensis by Mlíkovský (2002:189), who expressed his doubts that this fossil could actually be referred to this species. Re-examination of the specimen and more detailed comparisons with extinct and modern Aegypiinae confirm that it is part of Aegypius, and that Tugarinov’s (1940) placement of the Pleistocene Gyps melitensis Lydekker, 1890 into Aegypius is evidently unsubstantiated. The vulture from Pelinei is the earliest unequivocal evidence of Aegypiinae in Europe.KurzfassungEin einzelner, gut erhaltener Tarsometatarsus eines Altweltgeiers (Aegypiinae) aus dem frühen Pliozän (MN 15) von Pelinei, Moldavien, wurde ursprünglich von Tugarinov (1940:199) als Aegypius melitensis (Lydekker, 1890) beschrieben. Mlíkovský (2002:189) führte ihn unter Gyps melitensis auf, bezweifelte aber, dass das Fossil tatsächlich dieser Art zugeordnet werden könnte. Eine erneute Untersuchung des Fossils von Pelinei und detailliertere Vergleiche mit fossilen und rezenten Aegypiinae bestätigen nicht nur, dass es sich um eine neue Art von Aegypius handelt, sondern auch, dass Tugarinovs (1940) Neukombination von Gyps melitensis Lydekker, 1890 mit Aegypius nicht gerechtfertigt ist. Der Aegypius-Fund von Pelinei ist der bislang älteste eindeutige Nachweis für Aegypiinae in Europa.

North American–Asian aquatic bird dispersal in the Miocene: evidence from a new species of diving duck (Anseriformes: Anatidae) from North America (Nevada) with affinities to Mongolian taxa

Stidham, T.A. & Zelenkov, N.V., September 2016. North American–Asian aquatic bird dispersal in the Miocene: evidence from a new species of diving duck (Anseriformes: Anatidae) from North America (Nevada) with affinities to Mongolian taxa. Alcheringa 41, XXX–XXX. ISSN 0311-5518. Prehistoric intercontinental dispersals are often used to explain the modern geographic distributions of various organisms, including birds. The extant Holarctic avifauna formed largely in the Neogene, and thus dispersals of various taxa during the Miocene likely have had a strong long-lasting effect upon the geographical pattern of the extant avian communities. However, the uneven fossil record of Neogene birds prevents accurate reconstruction of the biogeographic history of many bird clades, and the present evidence on dispersal of birds in the Neogene among continents is very limited. Past dispersals are most likely to be documented by taxa that are well represented in the fossil record, including diving ducks. Although these birds have a rather substantial fossil record in Europe and Asia, they remain very poorly known from the Neogene of North America. Here we document a new species of Miocene diving duck represented by a proximal humerus and a distal tibiotarsus from the Esmeralda Formation in Nevada (USA) and describe it as a new species of the primitive diving duck genus Protomelanitta Zelenkov (Protomelanitta bakeri sp. nov.), previously known only from the middle Miocene of Mongolia. Both species (from Mongolia and Nevada) are from the ca 11–12 Ma age range during the warm (though cooling) middle Miocene after the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum and Middle Miocene Climate Transition. Given their proposed close relationship, it appears that Protomelanitta dispersed between Asia and North America, and this instance is the first clear indication of an aquatic bird dispersal between North America and Eurasia in the middle Miocene. This palaeobiogeographical event predates the famous immigration of Hipparion horses to the Old World and the late Miocene dispersals between continental Eurasian and North American faunas in general, but likely reflects one prolonged faunal interchange related to global climatic conditions and its effects. Thomas A. Stidham* [presbyornis@gmail.com], Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Nikita V. Zelenkov [nzelen@paleo.ru], Cabinet of Paleornithology, Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya 123, Moscow 117997, Russia.

A historical specimen of enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia representing a new taxon with a specialized neck morphology

We describe Holbotia ponomarenkoi gen. et sp. nov., the first articulated specimen of an enantiornithine bird from Mongolia, unearthed in 1977 from Early Cretaceous deposits and formerly thought to be a pterosaur. The specimen shows a series of morphological details that are either unique to the new taxon or very poorly known for Enantiornithes. A previously unobserved specialized cervical morphology, the development of a crest on the caudal surface of the distal tibia, and the presence of unusually widely spaced small teeth in the lower jaw are unique features of Holbotia. The results of a phylogenetic analysis indicate that Holbotia is more closely related to the Late Cretaceous edentulous Gobipteryx than to the Early Cretaceous enantiornithines with reduced dentition (Longipterygidae), which implies a different evolutionary pathway for the loss of teeth in Enantiornithes, as compared with Ornithuromorpha. The only preserved cervical vertebra of Holbotia ponomarenkoi displays partly ventrally facing prezygapophyseal articular surfaces, otherwise found only in the darters (Anhingidae), which implies an unusually increased degree of neck mobility. Morphology of the palate, described in detail for an Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird for the first time, is roughly similar to that of Archaeopteryx and non-avian paravians. It shows that the evolution of specialized rostral morphology in Early Cretaceous enantiornithines was possible with retention of the primitive palatal structure, in contrast to modern birds (Neornithes), where the diversification of skull types was coupled with the evolution of several types of palate. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:42845FFC-4E4B-4FEE-9D76-0B5A7D9E127B