Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Patagopterygiformes<br />
“Patagonia wings” are enigmatic <strong>birds</strong>, all poorly known from<br />
fragmentary material, which may or may not form a natural group. Several<br />
of them appear <strong>to</strong> have been flightless ground <strong>birds</strong>, <strong>and</strong> they may have<br />
descended from a late-surviving lineage of primitive euornitheans or ambiortiformes.<br />
The poorly known Alami<strong>to</strong>rnis minutus from Argentina may be<br />
an additional member, but is <strong>to</strong>o incompletely preserved <strong>to</strong> res<strong>to</strong>re here.<br />
Patagonia Wing Patagopteryx deferrariisi<br />
Time: 85 Ma ago Location: Neuquen, Argentina Habitat: Bajo de la Carpa Formation<br />
Size: WS unknown; BL ~60cm (2ft); TL unknown Features: Neck long w/ large, round<br />
head. Wings very small. Pelvis broad. Legs long. Tarsus broad. Hallux oriented forward<br />
(not reversed) <strong>and</strong> apparently used in locomotion alongside <strong>other</strong> <strong>to</strong>es. Tail long & partially<br />
unfused. Biology: These appear <strong>to</strong> have been specialized flightless, slow-moving foragers.<br />
Much of the skele<strong>to</strong>n & skull unknown.<br />
Wine-loving Gargantua Bird Gargantuavis philoinos<br />
Time: 70 Ma ago Location: Aude, France<br />
Habitat: Marnes de la Maurine Formation. Ibero-Armorican isl<strong>and</strong> in the Tethys sea Size:<br />
WS unknown; BL ~2m (6.5ft); TL unknown Features: Known from hip & possible femur<br />
& neck bone. Pelvis very broad. Hip socket located near front of hip. Biology: Largest<br />
known Mesozoic avialans. Large, heavy bones indicate these were flightless ground <strong>birds</strong>.<br />
Broad pelvis unlike that in specialized runners, e.g. ostriches <strong>and</strong> terror <strong>birds</strong>, but characteristic<br />
of slow-moving moa & mihirungs. Probably more moa-like than ostrich-like in<br />
ecology, employing an herbivorous browsing lifestyle. A few features of internal ana<strong>to</strong>my<br />
may indicate a close relationship <strong>to</strong> Patagopteryx. The name refers <strong>to</strong> the fact that fossils<br />
were found while building a winery, which now produces a Gargantuavis-label pinot noir.<br />
Much of the ana<strong>to</strong>my is unknown, & so is res<strong>to</strong>red similarly <strong>to</strong> ratites. This general body<br />
plan seems <strong>to</strong> have been converged upon several times among large flightless <strong>birds</strong>. Long<br />
neck & small head is suggested by ana<strong>to</strong>my of a possible neck vertebrae described in 2012.<br />
152
Change language