''Paraprefica'' is an extinct genus of

potoo Potoos (family (biology), family Nyctibiidae) are a group of birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. They are sometimes called poor-me-ones, after their haunting bird vocalization, calls. The family Nyctibiidae was formerly included with ...

(family

Nyctibiidae Potoos (family Nyctibiidae) are a group of birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. They are sometimes called poor-me-ones, after their haunting calls. The family Nyctibiidae was formerly included with the nightjars in the order Caprimul ...

) from the middle

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

(c. 48 million years ago). Its fossil remains have been found in the

Messel pit The Messel Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in Hesse, central Germany, dating back to the Eocene Epoch (geology), epoch (about 47 Ma). Its geographic range is restricted to the Messel pit. There it unconformably overlie ...

Messel Messel is a municipality in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg in Hesse near Frankfurt am Main in Germany. The village is first mentioned, as ''Masilla'', in the Lorsch codex. Messel was the property of the lords of Groschlag from ca. 1400 to 1799 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Taxonomy

It is the only known member of the extinct

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Parapreficinae, erected in 2021 to distinguish ''Paraprefica'' from the extant potoos of the genus ''

Nyctibius ''Nyctibius'' is a genus of potoos, nocturnal birds in the family Nyctibiidae. Etymology The genus ''Nyctibius'' was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot to accommodate a single species, Comte de Buffon's "Le G ...

'' and '' Phyllaemulor'', which have a slightly different anatomy and are known only from the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

Described for the first time in 1999 by G. Mayr, this bird was at first placed in the genus '' Prefica'', a North American fossil closely related to modern oilbirds ('' Steatornis caripensis''). Later research showed however that ''Paraprefica'' had characteristics found only in the family

, order

Caprimulgiformes Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called bugeaters, their primary source of food ...

(the nightjars). It is possible that the similarities between the bones of ''Prefica'' and ''Paraprefica'' are due to primitive characters found in all Cypselomorphs, the group that also includes the Caprimulgiformes. There are two species in the genus: ''Paraprefica kelleri'', the best known, and ''Paraprefica major''.

Description

This bird is known from fossil remains which include a

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

and many well-preserved

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

s, and is one of the best preserved Eocene birds. ''Paraprefica'', a medium-sized bird, has skull and legs somewhat resembling today's

s, in the genera ''Nyctibius'' and ''Phyllaemulor''. The head has a thin

beak The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and ...

and a very wide mouth, while the wings are relatively large, though smaller than those of extant potoos.Mayr, 1999.Mayr, 2005.

Distribution

The existing finds from Germany present a puzzle on the birds' distribution, as modern potoos are found only in the New World, from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to the north of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and the Caribbean islands of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

and

Tobago Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...

, making them

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

. Either the group was once cosmopolitan, and has become limited to the Americas, or it was Eurasian and has at some time shifted its distribution.Tudge, 2011. p. 84.

References

Sources

* Mayr, G. (1999). ''Caprimulgiform birds from the Middle Eocene of Messel'' (Hessen, Germany). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19(3): 521–532. * Mayr, G. (2005). ''The Palaeogene Old World Potoo ''Paraprefica'' Mayr, 1999 (Aves, Nyctibiidae): its osteology and affinities to the New World Preficinae''. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 3 (4): 359–370. doi:10.1017/S1477201905001653 * Tudge, C. (2011).
The Link: Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor
'. Hachette. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3895272 Eocene birds of Europe Prehistoric bird genera Nyctibiiformes Fossil taxa described in 2005