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21 January 2022 A Nearly Complete Skeleton of the Fossil Galliform Bird Palaeortyx from the Late Oligocene of Germany
Gerald Mayr, Markus Poschmann, Michael Wuttke
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Abstract

Phasianid galliform birds do not occur in Europe before the end of the early Oligocene, and their Paleogene fossil record mainly comprises isolated bones. Here we describe a nearly complete and articulated skeleton of a phasianid galliform bird from the late Oligocene of Enspel in Germany. The specimen is assigned to Palaeortyx cf. gallica Milne-Edwards, 1869 and for the first time allows the recognition of cranial and pelvic details in a late Oligocene phasianid. Many gizzard stones are preserved in both the gizzard and the crop, and constitute the earliest fossil evidence for grit use in a phasianid galliform.

Gerald Mayr, Markus Poschmann, and Michael Wuttke "A Nearly Complete Skeleton of the Fossil Galliform Bird Palaeortyx from the Late Oligocene of Germany," Acta Ornithologica 41(2), 129-135, (21 January 2022). https://doi.org/10.3161/068.041.0209
Received: 1 July 2006; Accepted: 1 October 2006; Published: 21 January 2022
KEYWORDS
fossil birds
Galliformes
gizzard stones
Oligocene
Palaeortyx
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