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''Urocolius'' is a small
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''Urocolius'' is a small genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of mousebird
The mousebirds are birds in the order Coliiformes. They are the sister group to the clade Eucavitaves, which includes the Leptosomiformes (the cuckoo roller), Trogoniformes ( trogons), Bucerotiformes (hornbills and hoopoes), Piciformes (wo ...
s. Species
It consists of twospecies
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
which inhabit Eastern and Southern Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
:
Description
They are typically about 32 cm (13 in) long omnivorous birds, eatinginsects
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
, small millipede
Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a re ...
s and plant
Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...
material. ''Urocolius indicus'' in particular eats a great deal of fruit, leaves, buds, flowers, nectar and similar material.Maclean, Gordon Lindsay. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa Publisher: New Holland 1993.
''"Urocolius" archiaci'', ''"U." consobrinus'' and ''"U." paludicola'' are 3 taxa
In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...
described from fragmentary Early Miocene
The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages.
The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 Ma to 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). It was p ...
remains found at Saint-Gérand-le-Puy in France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
. Their taxonomic history is convoluted, being initially described as woodpecker
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar region ...
s and variously merged and split. Today it is believed that at least 2 belong to the prehistoric genus '' Limnatornis''. They sometimes are all united under the first of the 3 names although it is not clear with what justification. The same rationales presumably apply for undescribed but similar remains found in Late Miocene strata at Kohfidisch
Kohfidisch (; hu, Gyepűfüzes, hr, Gornji Fideš, Burgenland Croatian: ''Zgornji Fideš'') is a municipality in the district of Oberwart in the Austrian state of Burgenland
Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ' ...
(Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
).Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002): ''Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe''. Ninox Press, Prague.PDF fulltext
References
External links
Bird genera Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte {{bird-stub