''Podiceps miocenicus'' is an extinct species of large Late

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

grebe Grebes () are aquatic diving birds in the order (biology), order Podicipediformes (). Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in sea, marine habitats during Bird migration, migration and winter. Most grebes f ...

from

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

History

The species was found at

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

as part of fossil collecting survey in the aforementioned place, as well as Bujorul and Kalfa starting with 1974. The species was described by Eugene Kessler in 1984. The species name "miocenicus" refers to the Miocene age of the grebe.

Description

The holotype and only specimen (LPUI 61-MS) is a right

humerus The humerus (; : humeri) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius (bone), radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extrem ...

broken into two fragmentary pieces. The two pieces are a proximal

epiphysis An epiphysis (; : epiphyses) is one of the rounded ends or tips of a long bone that ossify from one or more secondary centers of ossification. Between the epiphysis and diaphysis (the long midsection of the long bone) lies the metaphysis, inc ...

with diaphysis and a distal epiphysis. The overall form and dimensions are similar to the humeri of the

great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The bird is characterised by its distinctive appearance, featuring striking black, orange-brown, and white plumage, and elaborate courtship displa ...

(''P. cristatus'') but are slightly larger. In comparison to available humeri from other

Neogene The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...

fossil grebes recovered from

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

, ''P. miocenicus'' is the largest.

Paleobiology

''P. miocenicus'' comes from the

Tortonian The Tortonian is in the geologic time scale an age or stage of the late Miocene that spans the time between 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma and 7.246 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). It follows the Serravallian and is followed by the Messinian. The Tort ...

age of the Miocene epoch. During this point in Earth's history much of Central Europe was covered by a large, shallow

inland sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large in area and is either completely surrounded by dry land (landlocked), or connected to an ocean by a river, strait or " arm of ...

known as the

Paratethys The Paratethys sea, Paratethys ocean, Paratethys realm or just Paratethys (meaning "beside Tethys"), was a large shallow inland sea that covered much of mainland Europe and parts of western Asia during the middle to late Cenozoic, from the lat ...

. ''P. miocenicus'' would have been contemporary with various

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

and

marine mammal Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine enviro ...

s whose fossil remains have been heavily documented.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q116059309 miocenicus Fossil taxa described in 1984 Tortonian species Birds described in 1984