Primobucco ( lat. Primobucco , from primo bucco “the first puff ”) is a genus of extinct birds that lived in the Eocene era, 55.8-40.4 million years ago [1] .
† Primobucco | ||||||||||||
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 Reconstruction from BECM | ||||||||||||
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| Primobucco Brodkorb, 1970 | ||||||||||||
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Content
- 1 Systematics
- 2 Places and age of finds
- 3 Description
- 4 Views
- 5 notes
- 6 References
Systematics
Primobucco is a representative of the eponymous family of tree birds. However, their final systematic position has not been determined. Some experts include them in a squad of crayfish (along with modern bee-eater , bluefin and kingfishers ), while others consider them primitive relatives of modern woodpeckers .
Locations and age of finds
The fossilized remains of primobucco and several other genera close to it were found in Eocene deposits on the North American continent . There are now three collections of the remains of this bird from four different locations. One of them is in Germany , the other two are in the USA , Wyoming [1] .
Description
The sizes of primobucco were probably close to those of a starling or thrush . Most likely, this bird resembled living puffs by its way of life and appearance, as it had a short round body, developed wings for flying between trees, and a straight beak of medium length. Perhaps they ate on the ground (there, according to some sources, they lived [1] ), among the roots and fallen leaves, and spent time resting on trees. Probably, they were omnivorous - could eat both medium-sized fruits and a variety of small invertebrates .
Views
The genus includes four species. The first is P. mcgrewi , described by Broadcorb in 1970 , known by the skeleton of USNM 336284, which had no left leg, and UWGM 14563, which included the right wing , shoulder girdle, and sternum . The remains of this species were found in the lower layers of the Eocene Green River formation [2] .
The second species is P. perneri , named after Thomas Perner, who found the fossils of this species. Morphologically, the species is very close to P. mcgrewi , but differs from it by a longer beak and shorter tibia . The remains are found in Germany, the commune of Messel , the state of Hesse [2] .
And another species, P. frugilegus , is also known from the remains of Messel. It is larger than the two types described above. It is represented by the skeleton SMF-ME 3794. The species name means “picking fruit”, because when studying the remains, specialists were able to find a pile of large seeds in the stomach [2] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Fossilworks: Primobucco (English) . fossilworks.org . Date of treatment November 18, 2013.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Gerald Mayr, Cecile Mourer-Chauvire, Ilka Weidig. Osteology and systematic position of the Eocene Primobucconidae (Aves, Coraciiformes SENSU STRICTO ), with fi rst records from Europe (inaccessible link) . Journal of Systematic Palaentology 2 (1): 1-12 . www.senckenberg.de (March 11, 2004). Date of treatment November 18, 2013. Archived February 25, 2012.