A New Ornithuromorph Bird from the Lower Cretaceous of South America

Ismar de Souza Carvalho; Federico L. Agnolin; Sebastián Rozadilla; Fernando E. Novas; José A. Ferreira Gomes Andrade; José Xavier-Neto

doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1988623

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7 April 2022 A New Ornithuromorph Bird from the Lower Cretaceous of South America

Ismar de Souza Carvalho, Federico L. Agnolin, Sebastián Rozadilla, Fernando E. Novas, José A. Ferreira Gomes Andrade, José Xavier-Neto

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J. of Vertebrate Paleontology, 41(4): (2022). https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.1988623

Abstract

The fossil record of Early Cretaceous birds in South America has been restricted to members of Enantiornithes from the Crato Formation (Aptian) of Brazil. Here we describe a new genus and species of bird discovered at Pedra Branca Mine, Nova Olinda County, Ceará State, Brazil, which adds to the avian fossil record from the Crato Formation. The specimen is represented by an isolated foot that is exposed in plantar view. A plantarly displaced metatarsal III with a well-developed hypotarsus supports its referral to Ornithuromorpha, representing the oldest member of the clade reported for Gondwana. Its unique foot conformation indicates that it may belong to an unknown ornithuromorph clade with some cursory similarities to extant flightless ratites. The presence of Early Cretaceous ornithuromorphs in Brazil indicates that the clade was widespread in Gondwana during the Mesozoic.

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Ismar de Souza Carvalho, Federico L. Agnolin, Sebastián Rozadilla, Fernando E. Novas, José A. Ferreira Gomes Andrade, and José Xavier-Neto "A New Ornithuromorph Bird from the Lower Cretaceous of South America," Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 41(4), (7 April 2022). https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.1988623

Received: 16 February 2021; Accepted: 23 August 2021; Published: 7 April 2022

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