Systematics and evolution of the Gruiformes (class, Aves). 1, The Eocene family Geranoididae and the early history of the Gruiformes

Title Variants

Alternative: Eocene family Geranoididae and the early history of the Gruiformes

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, no. 2388

By

Cracraft, Joel

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, N.Y American Museum of Natural History [1969]

Notes

Title from caption.

"August 27, 1969."

"The present paper reviews the relationships of some fossil gruiform birds from the Eocene of North America. Geranoides jepseni Wetmore is gruiform, but the type tarsometatarsus was distorted during preservation and cannot be used as a basis for phylogenetic inferences. Paragrus prentici (Loomis) is transferred from the Gruidae to the Geranoididae, and a new species P. shufeldti is described. New material of the fossil Palaeophasianus meleagroides Shufeldt establishes a rather close relationship to the geranoidids; the largest member of the family, P. incompletus, is described and tentatively placed in Palaeophasianus. Two new genera are described and allocated to the Geranoididae. The first is Eogeranoides campivagus, which has definite affinities to the Geranoididae. The second, Geranodornis aenigma, has doubtful relationships with the other genera and may represent an independent line of Eocene gruiforms. The Geranoididae are probably derived from a common ancestor with the Eogruidae of the Eocene of eastern Asia. Furthermore, the geranoidids are likely candidates for the ancestors of the Bathornithidae, thus suggesting that the latter family is not actually closely related to the cariamid-phororhacoid line of gruiforms. Another line of gruiforms, which is separable from the geranoidids and bathornithids, apparently includes the Eogruidae, Gruidae, Aramidae, and Psophiidae"--P. 39-40.

Subjects

Birds, Fossil , Eocene , Evolution , Geranoididae , Gruiformes , Gruiformes, Fossil , Paleontology , Wyoming

Call Number

QL1 .A436 no.2388, 1969

Language

English

Identifiers

OCLC: 3253194