Palaeotis weigelti (lat.) Is a fossil species of flightless birds of the ostrich family, the only one in the genus Palaeotis . A specific Latin name is given in honor of the German paleontologist (1890-1948), who was the first to find fossilia .
| † Palaeotis weigelti |
 |
| Scientific classification |
|---|
| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| Gender: | † Palaeotis Lambrecht, 1928 |
| View: | † Palaeotis weigelti |
|
| International scientific name |
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Palaeotis weigelti Lambrecht , 1928 |
Geochronology
Lutetian age47.8–41.2 Ma | million years | Era | F-d | Era |
|---|
| | Th | TO
but
th
n
about
s
about
th | | 2,588 | | | 5.33 | Pliocene | N
e
about
g
e
n | | 23.03 | Miocene | | 33.9 | Oligocene | P
but
l
e
about
g
e
n | | 55.8 | Eocene | | 65.5 | Paleocene | | 251 | Mesozoic |
◄ Nowadays◄ Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction |
|---|
|
The bird is known from the Middle Eocene ( Lutetian age ) of Germany [1] . This long-legged, flightless bird was up to 1 m high [2] .
The species was described by tarsus and phalanx in 1928 by Lambrecht. The author of the description considered the bird an early bustard and called it Palaeotis (ancient bustard) [3] . In 1987, Hood and Hobold (Houde and Haubold) studied this specimen and came to the conclusion that it belongs to a rat-free bird and assigned it to the ostrich-like order [4] . Also, Hood and Hobold attributed to the view three samples that were stored in the Museum of the University. Martin Luther in Germany and was first described as Paleogrus geiseltalensis .
Hood and Hobold believe that Palaeotis is a basal ratite , isolating it in the monotypic family Palaeotididae , or, perhaps, the ancestor of modern ostriches. The version that the species occupies a basal position in ratites was supported by G. Mayr in 2009 [5] . The species may be associated with Remiornis , the alleged ratites from the Eocene of France.
