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Dryornis
Temporal range: Early Miocene ( Santacrucian)–Late Pliocene ( Piacenzian)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Cathartiformes
Family: Cathartidae
Genus: † Dryornis
Moreno & Mercerat, 1891
Type species
†Dryornis pampeanus
Moreno & Mercerat, 1891
Other species
  • †D. hatcheri Degrange, 2022

Dryornis (meaning "tree bird"), also called the Argentinian vulture, is an extinct genus of cathartid (New World vulture), known from Argentina. [1] The genus contains two species, D. pampeanus and D. hatcheri. [2]

Discovery and naming

An extant Vultur gryphus (Andean condor) in flight, which was likely a close relative of Dryornis [3]

Dryornis was first described in 1891 by Argentine paleontologists Francisco Moreno and Alcides Mercerat, the type species being D. pampeanus, [4] based on the distal portion of a right humerus and a right femur that was supposedly part of the same individual, [5] though it has since been referred to the phorusrhacid Mesembriornis milneedwardsi. [6] [7] The fossils had been collected from the Pliocene age deposits of the Monte Hermoso Formation in Buenos Aires, Argentina and have since been deposited at the Museo de La Plata under specimen number MLP 20-169. [5] Between 1896 and 1899, the American Princeton University dispatched several expeditions to the Miocene Santa Cruz Formation of Santa Cruz, Argentina to recover fossils of taxa previously described by paleontologists like Moreno, Mercerat, and Florentino Ameghino. [8] [2] These expeditions were led by notable fossil collector John Bell Hatcher, who in 1899, unearthed a fragmentary left humerus that was later referred to the "terror bird" Phorusrhacos in 1932. [9] This humerus was deposited at the Yale Peabody Museum under catalogue number YPM-PVVU 15866. [2] It remained unstudied until 2022, when Argentine paleontologist Federico J. Degrange noticed its true affinities and described it as a new species of Dryornis, D. hatcheri. [2]

D. pampeanus was only known from the type specimen until a 2021 paper described an individual preserving a: right pectoral girdle, articulated partial right forelimb, incomplete right scapula, and fragments from the sternum and tibiotarsus. The paper also assigned an isolated distal left ulna and another specimen preserving an incomplete right ulna and proximal right radius fragment. All of the fossils had been collected from the La Estafeta Beach in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina and were from the Late Pliocene aged Chapadmalal Formation. The fossils allowed more detailed analysis of the species’ phylogeny and revealed many novel diagnostic characteristics for the species. [5]

Description

Dryornis represents the largest known cathartiform other than the Teratornithidae. Analysis of the known fossil materials suggests that it had a body mass of 26 kg, 57% greater than Vultur grypus (Andean condor) and 94% greater than Cathartes aura (turkey vulture). Several giant genera of extinct birds are known, with some birds like the pseudo toothed Pelagornis at 16-29 kg and the giant teratorn being the largest known bird at 70-80 kg. Dryornis is also distinguished from other cathartids in its skeletal anatomy. The sternum is much more pneumatized than that of other cathartids, likely an adaptation for its size and flight capabilities.

Dryornis would have been a scavenger, and the only such predator in its ecosystem. [5]

Classification

In their phylogenetic analyses, Degrange et al. (2021) recovered Dryornis as a member of the Cathartidae and sister taxon to Coragyps + Cathartes. It was more closely related to vultures then to condors. [5]

Cathartidae

References

  1. ^ Campbell, Michael O'Neal (June 26, 2015). Vultures: Their Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation. Boca Raton: CRC Press. p. 120. ISBN  978-1-4822-2362-0. OCLC  898155265.
  2. ^ a b c d Degrange, Federico J. (2022-02-14). "A new species of Dryornis (Aves, Cathartiformes) from the Santa Cruz Formation (lower Miocene), Patagonia, Argentina". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (5): e2008411. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2021.2008411. ISSN  0272-4634. S2CID  246833070.
  3. ^ Emslie, Steven D. (1988-06-22). "The fossil history and phylogenetic relationships of condors (Ciconiiformes: Vulturidae) in the New World". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 8 (2): 212–228. Bibcode: 1988JVPal...8..212E. doi: 10.1080/02724634.1988.10011699. ISSN  0272-4634.
  4. ^ Moreno, F. P., & Mercerat, A. (1891). Catálogo de los pájaros fósiles de la República Argentina conservados en el Museo de La Plata. Taller de Publicaciones del Museo.
  5. ^ a b c d e Degrange, Federico J.; Tambussi, Claudia P.; Taglioretti, Matías L.; Scaglia, Fernando A. (2021-04-16). "Phylogenetic affinities and morphology of the Pliocene cathartiform Dryornis pampeanus Moreno & Mercerat". Papers in Palaeontology. 7 (4): 1765–1780. doi: 10.1002/spp2.1361. ISSN  2056-2799. S2CID  234850849.
  6. ^ Alvarenga, Herculano M. F.; Höfling, Elizabeth (2003). "Systematic revision of the Phorusrhacidae (Aves: Ralliformes)". Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia. 43 (4): 55–91. doi: 10.1590/S0031-10492003000400001. ISSN  0031-1049.
  7. ^ Brodkorb, P. (1967). Catalogue of fossil birds: part 3 (Ralliformes, Ichthyornithiformes, Charadriiformes). University of Florida.
  8. ^ Dingus, Lowell (2018). King of the dinosaur hunters : the life of John Bell Hatcher and the discoveries that shaped paleontology. New York. ISBN  978-1-68177-865-5. OCLC  1023547501.{{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link)
  9. ^ Sinclair, W. & Farr, M. 1932. Aves of the Santa Cruz beds. In: Scott, W. (ed.) Reports of the Princeton University expeditions to Patagonia (1896-1899). Princeton University. v.7, p.157-191.
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