Devincenzia
| Devincenzia | ||||||||||||
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Miocene to Pliocene | ||||||||||||
| 9.0 to 2.0 million years | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Devincenzia | ||||||||||||
| Kraglievich , 1932 | ||||||||||||
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Devincenzia is an extinct genus of birds from the Phorusrhacidae family("terror birds"). It lived from the Upper Miocene to the Pliocene , possibly up to the Lower Pleistocene around 9 to 2 million years ago in the middle latitudes of South America . Finds are, however, sparse and include, in addition to a fragmented skull, mainly remains of the hind limbs. These distinguish Devincenzia as a very large representative within the Phorusrhacidae, who possibly inhabited open landscapes. The genus was scientifically introduced in 1932; additional findshad been described under at least two other generic namesin the course of the 1930s due to widely scattered sites in Argentina and Uruguay . Todayonly one valid species is recognizedwith Devincenzia pozzii .
features
Devincenzia was one of the largest representatives of the Phorusrhacidae . It exceeded the type form Phorusrhacos , the total height of which is given as about 2.4 m, and could have reached about the size of Brontornis , but was built much lighter than this. The probable body weight of Devincenzia is about 161 kg. It probably resembled its South American relatives and, like them, was endowed with a narrow body, noticeably elongated legs and receding wings. Overall, however, only a few finds are known that represent a fragmented skull, individual vertebrae and a few sparse remains of the walking legs. The skull is preserved with the rear part and areas of the upper jaw, reconstructed it was probably around 64.5 cm in length, which roughly corresponded to the known skull of Phorusrhacos , but was slightly smaller than that of Kelenken . Seen from above, it had a typical wedge-shaped shape, at the occiput it reached a width of 32.3 cm and a height of 12.7 cm. The height of the skull at the back of the head therefore corresponded to about 39% of the width, which is less than with Phorusrhacos with 47% or with Psilopterus with 48%. In the feature of the skulls of similar devincenzia more of the kelenken . Towards the front it tapered, at the frontal bone the width was 24.4 cm, at the temporal pits it was clearly drawn in and measured 19.1 cm here. The frontal bone was very broad; the two processes occurring there, the postorbital process and the supraorbital process , were separated by a deep recess. The os quadratum looked comparatively large, it differed from that of Psilopterus in addition to the different design of the three processes, among other things, by the comparatively smaller part of the main bone, which was connected to the zygomatic bone . The Os quadratojugale also had a more robust structure and was comparatively higher. Since the upper jaw is incomplete, only the middle section is available, the dimensions of the beak can only be calculated, it should have been 36 cm long and 17 cm high compared to other Phorusrhacids. The symphysis of the lower jaw, also fragmented , had a much narrower and lower shape than that of Brontornis . It is only 11 cm long, but reconstructed it should have reached a length of around 16 cm. At the rear end it was 6.2 cm wide and 4.7 cm thick, towards the front it was significantly lower and measured about 2.8 cm halfway along. The underside had a slight curvature that was somewhat more pronounced than that of Physornis , which had an almost flat surface there. The externally visible foramina were wide and deep.
Of the few surviving elements of the body skeleton, a complete tibiotarsus is known, which had a length of 72 cm and a width at the lower joint end of 10.4 cm. He was like that of Phorusrhacos in his long and slender figure , but larger. At the lower end of the joint he possessed a bone bridge (pons supratendineus) which was noticeable for the Phorusrhaciden, which did not occur in Brontornis , in addition, the lower inner joint role, unlike Brontornis , protruded further forward. In addition, the tarsometatarsus stands out, which has been proven several times. An almost complete specimen, which only lacks the inner joint roller, reached a length of 40 cm and a width at the top of 11 cm. Compared to the Tarsometatarsus of Brontornis , that of Devincenzia was noticeably slimmer, but again more robust than that of Phorusrhacos . The side edges drew in in the middle of the shaft much more than in Phorusrhacos , who showed a relatively even course of the diaphysis there. The middle joint roller at the lower end was significantly more voluminous than the other two with a width of 4.3 cm and indicates that the middle toe was also more massive with Devincenzia . The first toe of the third (middle) ray measured 12.5 cm in length, it was long and narrow with a width of 5.3 and a height of 5.7 cm. The traditional end phalange of the second toe measured around 9 cm, it had an oval cross-section, was strongly curved in side view and strongly pressed on the sides. The width at the end of the joint facing the body was 2.4 cm and the height 3.9 cm.
Fossil finds
Finds of Devincenzia are known only from a limited area in central South America and are limited to the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos as well as Uruguay . The only skull found so far came to light in the west of the province of Buenos Aires near Campo de Robilotte on Lake Epecuén around 600 km southwest of the city of Buenos Aires and was associated with two first phalanges of the second and third toes. In Entre Ríos the finds come mainly from the Conglomerado osifero , which forms the lower part of the Ituzaingó formation . This is opened up by the Río Paraná near the city of Paraná and dates to the Upper Miocene . The finds here include a fragment of a mandibular symphysis, a fragment of the tibiotarsus and a fragment of a tarsometatarsus with a preserved shaft and lower joint end, as well as an end phalange of the second toe, as well as a cervical and thoracic vertebrae, which, due to their size , are placed in Devincenzia . The finds from Uruguay are very rare. Among other things, they can be assigned the complete, 72 cm long, right tibiotarsus. It comes from the Raigón Formation in the Department of San José , the deposits of which were formed under fluvial conditions. The accompanying fauna occurring there indicates an age from the Upper Pliocene to the Lower Pleistocene . Due to the lack of other fossils of large birds, the bone can only be put indirectly to Devincenzia , but the size and age of the find largely correspond to the other known ones. Two other fossil remains include a 40 cm long right tarsometatarsus, which lacks the inner joint role and which probably originates from the Arroyo Román river basin in the Río Negro department , and the lower joint end of another tarsometatarsus, which is an older museum specimen. An Upper Pliocene to Lower Pleistocene age is assumed for these finds as well.
Paleobiology
The Phorusrhaciden are considered to be predominantly ground-living, predatory to scavenger birds. Due to the size of Devincenzia , it can be assumed that the animals inhabited open landscapes. For the Conglomerado osifero of the Upper Miocene, a humid to swampy and wooded biotope is generally reconstructed on the basis of the presence of numerous water birds . However, since other large ratites such as relatives of today's rheas appear in addition to Devincenzia , savanna-like , open landscapes must have existed in the area .
Systematics
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Internal systematics of the Phorusrhacidae according to Degrange et al. 2015
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Devincenzia is a genus of the extinct family of phorusrhacidae . This group, often referred to colloquially as "terror birds", consists of medium-sized to large, mostly ground-dwelling birds , which for the most part predatory food. Their diet is indicated by a hook-shaped, pointed end of the beak and claws shaped like birds of prey. The Phorusrhacids are closely related to today's Seriemas , who inhabit the open landscapes of South America . The family originated in the course of the Oligocene , its origin is also suspected in South America, older finds from Antarctica , which were initially referred to the "terror birds", are now considered remains of other groups of birds. In the course of the Pliocene , however, a representative, Titanis , reached North America . The latest known finds come from Uruguay and date to the end of the Pleistocene .
As a rule, Devincenzia was placed in the subfamily of the Phorusrhacinae, the genus thus formed a closer family group with the giant Kelenken , the type form Phorusrhacos and the North American representative Titanis . All members of the subfamily are tall, but relatively slim, and have well-developed legs. In the case of the latter, the long metatarsus reaches at least 60% of the length of the tibiotarsus , which means that relatively rapid locomotion can be concluded. Another common characteristic is the elongated and narrow symphysis of the lower jaw. A phylogenetic study of the Phorusrhacids from 2015 showed, however, that the Phorusrhacinae are polyphyletic and together with other subfamilies, the Physornithinae and the Patagornithinae, form a common group. This is largely made up of the large forms of the family with a weight of over 70 kg and is temporarily referred to as "real terror birds". It is in turn opposed to a group of rather small-stature representatives, which are included in the subfamilies of the Psilopterinae and the Mesembriornithinae and to which some can still be assigned certain flight characteristics. It received the also preliminary term "Psilopterines".
The first scientific description of Devincenzia was in 1932 by Lucas Kraglievich . The material available to him was an almost complete right tarsometatarsus, which in his opinion came from the Arroyo Román river basin in Uruguay , but there are also indications that this was originally found in the Raigón formation . Kraglievich assigned the genus Devincenzia gallinali to a species. The year before, he had already introduced the species Phorusrhacos pozzii (in the alternative spelling Phororhacos for the generic name, which was often used at the time ) using a fragmented tarsometatarsus and an end phalange from the Upper Miocene Conglomerado osifero in northeast Argentina , and with the species assignment pozzii he honored Antonio Pozzi, who at that time was the main taxidermist in charge of the Natural History Museum of Buenos Aires . On the other hand, Kraglievich arranged a symphysis fragment of the lower jaw that was also found there in the same script as Phorusrhacos ? aff. platygnathus too. Ángel Cabrera, in turn, established the new genus and species Onactornis depressus in 1939 with a partial skull and two toe joints found with it from Campo de Robilotte in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires . Almost 30 years later, in 1967, Pierce Brodkorb saw the Devincenzia gallinali named by Kraglievich as identical to Brontornis burmeisteri (the form was still part of the Phorusrhacidae at that time), because he considered the tarsometarsus to belong to a young animal. In addition, he united Onactornis depressus and Phorusrhacos pozzii with each other, due to the priority of the names he called the species Onactornis pozzii . Only Herculano Marcos Ferraz de Alvarenga and Elizabeth Höfling then recognized in 2003 that all the finds were one and the same bird shape, which they then called Devincenzia pozzii . Thus Devincenzia represents an equal genus next to Phorusrhacos , Titanis and Kelenken within the large forms of the Phorusrhaciden. The holotypes form the lower part of the tarsometatarsus and the terminal phalanges of the second foot ray of Kraglievich 1931 from the Conglomerado osifero (specimen numbers MACN -6554 and 6681), sie are kept in Buenos Aires.
literature
- Herculano MF Alvarenga and Elizabeth Höfling: Systematic revision of the Phorusrhacidae (Aves: Ralliformes) . In: Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 43 (4), Sao Paulo 2003, pp. 55–91 ( PDF )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gina C. Gould and R. Irvy Quitmyer: Titanis walleri: bones of contention. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 45, 2005, pp. 201–229 ( PDF )
- ↑ a b c d e Herculano MF Alvarenga and Elizabeth Höfling: Systematic revision of the Phorusrhacidae (Aves: Ralliformes). Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 43 (4), 2003, pp. 55-91
- ^ Claudia P. Tambussi and Federico J. Degrange: The Dominance of Zoophagous Birds: Just a Cliché ?. In: Claudia P. Tambussi and Federico J. Degrange (Eds.): South American and Antarctic Continental Cenozoic Birds. Paleobiogeographic Affinities and Disparities. SpringerBriefs in Earth System Sciences, 2013, pp. 87–102 (p. 89)
- ^ S. Bertelli, LM Chiappe and C. Tambussi: A new phorusrhacid (Aves: Cariamae) from the Middle Miocene of Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27 (2), 2007, pp. 409-419
- ↑ a b c Ángel Cabrera: Sobre vertebrados fósiles del Plioceno de Adolfo Alsina. Revista del Museo La Plata 2, 1939, pp. 3-35
- ↑ a b c d Lucas Kraglievich: Contribución al conocimiento de las aves fósiles de la época araucoentrerriana. Physis: Revista de la Sociedad Argentina de Ciencias Naturales 10, 1931, pp. 304-315
- ↑ a b Federico L. Agnolin: Posición sistemática de algunas aves fororracoideas (Gruiformes; Cariamae) Argentinas. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 8, 2006, pp. 27-33
- ^ A b Claudia P. Tambussi, M. Ubilla and D. Perea: The youngest large carnassial bird (Phorusrhacidae, Phorusrhacinae) from South America (Pliocene – Early Pleistocene of Uruguay). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19 (2), 1999, pp. 404-406
- ↑ a b c d Lucas Kraglievich: Una gigantesca ave fósil del Uruguay, Devincenzia gallinali n. Gen. N. Sp., Tipo de una nueva familia, Devincenziidae, del Orden Stereornithes. Anales del Museo de Historia Natural de Montevideo Series II 3, 1932, pp. 323-353
- ↑ a b Jorge I. Noriega and Federico L. Agnolin: El registro Paleontológico de las Aves del "Mesopotamiense" (Formación Ituzaingó; MIOCENO Tardío-Plioceno) de la provincia de Entre Ríos, Argentina. Miscelânea Insugeo 17 (2), 2008, pp. 271-290
- ↑ a b Herculano MF Alvarenga, Washington Jones and Andrés Rinderknecht: The youngest record of phorusrhacid birds (Aves, Phorusrhacidae) from the late Pleistocene of Uruguay. New Yearbook for Geology and Paleontology Abhandlungen 256 (2), 2010, pp. 229–234
- ↑ a b c Federico J. Degrange, Claudia P. Tambussi, Matías L. Taglioretti, Alejandro Dondas and Fernando Scaglia: A New Mesembriornithinae (Aves, Phorusrhacidae) Provides New Insights Into the Phylogeny and Sensory Capabilities of Terror Birds. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35 (2), 2015 doi: 10.1080 / 02724634.2014.912656
- ↑ Marcos M. Cenizo: Review of the putative Phorusrhacidae from the Cretaceous and Paleogene of Antarctica: new records of ratites and pelagornithid birds. Polish Polar Research 33 (3), 2012, pp. 225-244
- ^ Herculano MF Alvarenga, Luis M. Chiappe and Sara Bertelli: The terrorbirds. In: Gareth Dyke and Gary Kaiser (Eds.): Living Dinosaurs: The Evolutionary History of Modern Birds. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, UK, 2011, pp. 187-208
- ^ Pierce Brodkorb: Catalog of fossil birds, Part III (Ralliformes, Ichthyornithiformes, Charadriiformes). Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences 11 (3), 1967, pp. 157-158 ( [1] )