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A new psittaciform bird from the London Clay (Lower Eocene) of England

A new psittaciform bird from the London Clay (Lower Eocene) of England
A new psittaciform bird from the London Clay (Lower Eocene) of England
A new psittaciform bird from the Lower Eocene (Ypresian) London Clay of England is described. This taxon, Pulchrapollia gracilis gen. et sp. nov., is assigned to the order Psittaciformes (parrots) on the basis of several distinctive structures of the tarsometatarsus, namely the trochlea for metatarsal III (trochlea metatarsi III) bearing a tubercle on its lateral side and the trochlea for metatarsal IV (trochlea metatarsi IV) completely retroverted (fully zygodactyl foot). Comparisons with other fossil and Recent taxa further support this conclusion. Cladistic analysis shows that Pulchrapollia is the sister-taxon of the single extant family within Psittaciformes, the Psittacidae. Palaeopsittacus georgei, a taxon previously described from the London Clay, is most likely based on some unassociated material and is regarded here as incertae sedis.
0031-0239
271-286
Dyke, Gareth J.
600ca61e-b40b-4c86-b8ae-13be4e331e94
Cooper, Joanne H.
7014a546-efed-43e1-8c47-12aed9d4c6f8
Dyke, Gareth J.
600ca61e-b40b-4c86-b8ae-13be4e331e94
Cooper, Joanne H.
7014a546-efed-43e1-8c47-12aed9d4c6f8

Dyke, Gareth J. and Cooper, Joanne H. (2000) A new psittaciform bird from the London Clay (Lower Eocene) of England. Palaeontology, 143 (2), 271-286. (doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00126).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A new psittaciform bird from the Lower Eocene (Ypresian) London Clay of England is described. This taxon, Pulchrapollia gracilis gen. et sp. nov., is assigned to the order Psittaciformes (parrots) on the basis of several distinctive structures of the tarsometatarsus, namely the trochlea for metatarsal III (trochlea metatarsi III) bearing a tubercle on its lateral side and the trochlea for metatarsal IV (trochlea metatarsi IV) completely retroverted (fully zygodactyl foot). Comparisons with other fossil and Recent taxa further support this conclusion. Cladistic analysis shows that Pulchrapollia is the sister-taxon of the single extant family within Psittaciformes, the Psittacidae. Palaeopsittacus georgei, a taxon previously described from the London Clay, is most likely based on some unassociated material and is regarded here as incertae sedis.

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More information

Published date: June 2000
Organisations: Ocean Biochemistry & Ecosystems

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Local EPrints ID: 205321
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/205321
ISSN: 0031-0239
PURE UUID: 890a042f-c32a-4322-afd5-5b8e5f30c568

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Date deposited: 09 Dec 2011 09:21
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 04:34

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Contributors

Author: Gareth J. Dyke
Author: Joanne H. Cooper

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