Revision of the Cathartidae (Aves: Ciconiiformes) from the Middle Eocene to the Upper Oligocene Phosphorites du Quercy, France

摘要

Two genera described from the Quercy, Diatropornis Oberholser, 1899, and Plesiocathartes Gaillard, 1908, have been referred to the family Cathartidae. A new genus, superficially resembling Sarcoramphus, is described, and a femur is attributed to Cathartidae incertae sedis. An undescribed tarsometatarsus makes it possible to show that the genus Plesiocathartes does not belong to the Cathartidae; it is now placed in Order and Family incertae sedis. Until recently, the oldest known cathartids had been reported from the Early Tertiary of Europe and Mongolia, and it was thought that this family had originated in the Old World. However, cathartid-like birds were also present during the Early Eocene in the United States, and it seems likely that this family was part of the early Tertiary continental basal avifauna, which was present during the Early Tertiary in both Eurasia and the Americas.