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Messelasturidae
Messelasturidae is an extinct family of birds known from the Eocene of North America and Europe. Their morphology is a mosaic that in some aspects are very similar to modern hawks and falcons, but in others are more similar to parrots. Initially interpreted as stem-owls, more recent studies have suggested a closer relationship to parrots and passerines. Their ecology is enigmatic. Description On the skull, Messelasturidae possessed a raptorial beak and a large supraorbital process. On the feet, messelasturids lacked an ossified supratendineal bridge on the distal tibiotarsus. They also featured raptorlike ungual phalanges. They were likely ground dwelling carnivores. They existed at an age range of 61.7 to 40.4 Ma. ''Tynskya'' is characterized by a distinctive morphology of the tarsometatarsus. Discovery and classification '' Messelastur gratulator'' was originally described in 1994 from two skulls with associated vertebrae, found in the Eocene aged Messel pit, Germany. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tynskya Eocaena
''Tynskya'' is an extinct genus of messelasturid bird. Distribution ''T. eocaena'', the type species, is known from fossils found in the North American Green River Formation. The Walton Member of the London Clay Formation of England contains the species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ... ''T. waltonensis'', along with the more recently described ''T. brevitarsus'' and ''T. crassitarsus''. References Prehistoric bird genera Eocene birds Prehistoric birds of North America Prehistoric birds of Europe Fossil taxa described in 2000 Neognathae Green River Formation {{paleo-bird-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halcyornithidae
Halcyornithidae is an extinct family of telluravian birds thought to be related to the Psittaciformes (parrots), Passeriformes (songbirds), and to the extinct Messelasturidae. Halcyornithids have been found in various Eocene formations in Europe and North America. Widespread and diverse in the Early Eocene of North America and Europe, halcyornithids are not found in locales later than the Middle Eocene. Halcyornithids were small, arboreal birds with zygodactyl feet, with two toes facing forwards and two facing back, a trait shared with other tree-dwelling families of Eocene birds like the Zygodactylidae and the messelasturids. The skull of halcyornithids features a ridge of bone above the eye called the supraorbital process, similar to birds of prey. The relationships of the halcyornithids to other birds remain uncertain. Halcyornithids have been proposed as relatives to owls and as a lineage closer to parrots than to songbirds. Most recently, halcyornithids have been identif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerald Mayr
Gerald Mayr is a German palaeontologist who is Curator of Ornithology at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse. He has published extensively on fossil birds, especially the Paleogene avifauna of Europe.Mayr, Gerald (2016). Avian evolution: the fossil record of birds and its paleobiological significance. Topics in Paleobiology. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 306. . He is an expert on the Eocene fauna of the Messel pit. In 2022, alongside Thomas Lechner and Madelaine Böhme, Mayr described '' Allgoviachen tortonica'', a new genus and species of anatid bird from the Hammerschmiede clay pits of Bavaria, 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 .... Below is a list of taxa that Mayr has contributed to naming: References German paleontologists Ger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parrot
Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in tropics, tropical and subtropics, subtropical regions. The four families are the Psittaculidae (Old World parrots), Psittacidae (African and New World parrots), Cacatuidae (cockatoos), and Strigopidae (New Zealand parrots). One-third of all parrot species are threatened by extinction, with a higher aggregate extinction risk (Red List Index, IUCN Red List Index) than any other comparable bird group. Parrots have a generally pantropical distribution with several species inhabiting temperateness, temperate regions as well. The greatest biodiversity, diversity of parrots is in South America and Australasia. Parrotsalong with Corvidae, ravens, crows, jays, and magpiesare among the most #Intelligence and learning, intelligent birds, and the abil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Messelastur
''Messelastur'' is a genus of messelasturid bird. It is known from the Messel pit of Germany, which dates to the Eocene.Peters, D.S. (1994) ''Messelastur gratulator'' n. gen. n. spec., ein Greifvogel as der Grube Messel (Aves: Accipitridae). ''Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg'', 170:3-9G. Mayr. 2011. Well-preserved new skeleton of the Middle Eocene Messelastur substantiates sister group relationship between Messelasturidae and Halcyornithidae Halcyornithidae is an extinct family of telluravian birds thought to be related to the Psittaciformes (parrots), Passeriformes (songbirds), and to the extinct Messelasturidae. Halcyornithids have been found in various Eocene formations in Eur ... (Aves, ?Pan-Psittaciformes). ''Journal of Systematic Palaeontology'', 9(1):159-171 References Prehistoric bird genera Eocene birds Prehistoric birds of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1994 {{paleo-neornithine-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psittacopasserae
Psittacopasseres is a taxon of birds consisting of the Passeriformes (passerines, a large group of perching birds) and Psittaciformes (parrots). Per Ericson and colleagues, in analysing genomic DNA, revealed a lineage comprising passerines, psittacines and Falconiformes. The group was proposed following an alignment of nuclear intron sequences by Shannon Hackett et al. in 2008. It was formally named as ''Psittacopasserae'' in a 2011 ''Nature Communications'' article by Alexander Suh and other authors working with Jürgen Schmitz's group, based on genetic analysis of the insertion of retroposons into the genomes of key avian lineages over the course of evolution during the Mesozoic Era. This clade was defined in the ''PhyloCode The ''International Code of Phylogenetic Nomenclature'', known as the ''PhyloCode'' for short, is a formal set of rules governing phylogenetic nomenclature. Its current version is specifically designed to regulate the naming of clades, leaving the ...'' b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 overlies crystalline Variscan basement and its Permian cover (Rotliegend) as well as Eocene volcanic breccias derived from the basement rocks. The formation mainly comprises lacustrine laminated bituminous shale (‘oil shale’) renowned for its content of fossils in exceptional preservation, particularly plants, arthropods and vertebrates (e.g. ''Darwinius masillae''). Messel pit The Messel pit () is a disused quarry near the village of Messel (Landkreis Darmstadt-Dieburg, Hesse) about southeast of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Bituminous shale was mined there. Because of its abundance of well-preserved fossils of the Messel Formation dating from the middle of the Eocene, it has significant geological and scientific importance. Over 1400 taxa o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Owls
Owls are birds from the Order (biology), order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly Solitary animal, solitary and Nocturnal animal, nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp Claw, talons, and feathers adapted for silent flight. Exceptions include the diurnal northern hawk-owl and the gregarious burrowing owl. Owls are divided into two Family (biology), families: the true (or typical) owl family, Strigidae, and the barn owl and bay owl family, Tytonidae. Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except the polar ice caps and some remote islands. A group of owls is called a "parliament". Anatomy Owls possess large, forward-facing eyes and ear-holes, a hawk-like beak, a flat face, and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers, a facial disc, around each eye. The feathers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 from the Ancient Greek (''Ēṓs'', 'Eos, Dawn') and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch.See: *Letter from William Whewell to Charles Lyell dated 31 January 1831 in: * From p. 55: "The period next antecedent we shall call Eocene, from ήως, aurora, and χαινος, recens, because the extremely small proportion of living species contained in these strata, indicates what may be considered the first commencement, or ''dawn'', of the existing state of the animate creation." The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isoto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawking (birds)
Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch, though it also applies to birds that spend almost their entire lives on the wing. This technique is called "flycatching" and some birds known for it are several Family (biology), families of "flycatchers": Old World flycatchers, monarch flycatchers, and tyrant flycatchers; however, some species known as "flycatchers" use other foraging methods, such as the grey tit-flycatcher. Other birds, such as Swift (bird), swifts, swallows, and nightjars, also take insects on the wing in continuous aerial feeding. The term "hawking" comes from the similarity of this behavior to the way Hawk, hawks take prey in flight, although, whereas Bird of prey, raptors may catch prey with their feet, hawking is the behavior of catching insects in the bill. Many birds have a combine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
