Precursor (bird)

"Precursor" is a controversial prehistoric bird genus from the Early Eocene.[1][2] It was established based on fossils found in England, including in the famous London Clay deposits. Three species are included in the genus: "P." parvus, the type species, "P." magnus, and "P." litorum, all named by Colin Harrison and Cyril Walker in 1977.[1][3]

"Precursor"
Temporal range: Ypresian
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Subclass:
Neornithes
Superorder:
Neoaves
Order:
see text
Genus:
"Precursor"

Harrison & Walker, 1977
Species
  • "Precursor" parvus Harrison & Walker, 1977 (type)
  • "Precursor" litorhinus Harrison & Walker, 1977
  • "Precursor" magnus Harrison & Walker, 1977

but see text

These remains were originally considered to be members of the Charadriiformes, more specifically the earliest representatives of the Glareolidae (pratincoles and coursers).[1] However, several authors have since found this interpretation to be dubious,[2][4] with the lack of measurements and contradictory wording making the original description's conclusions difficult to verify.[5] At least some of the material, namely the paratype humerus of "P." parvus, has been re-interpreted as belonging to the Pseudasturidae (or Halcyornithidae), a group of stem-parrots The remains of which (including a complete skeleton) were found in the Green River Formation in the United States.[6][7]

References
  1. Harrison, C. J. O.; Walker, C. A. (1977). "Birds of the British Lower Eocene". Tertiary Research, Special Paper. 3: 1–52.
  2. Mlikovsky, J. (1996). "Tertiary avian faunas of Europe" (PDF). Acta Universitatis Carolinae, Geologica. 39: 777–818.
  3. Mlikovsky, J. (1996). "Tertiary Avian Localities of the United Kingdom" (PDF). Acta Universitatis Carolinae, Geologica. 39: 777–818. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  4. Mlikovsky, J. (2000). "Early Miocene pratincoles (Aves, Glareolidae) from Dolnice, Czech Republic" (PDF). Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae. 64: 93–96. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-06. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  5. Steadman, D.W. (1981). "Review: Birds of the British Lower Eocene by C. J. O. Harrison, C. A. Walker". The Auk. 98 (1): 205–207. JSTOR 4085636.
  6. Mayr, G. (2002). "On the osteology and phylogenetic affinities of the Pseudasturidae – Lower Eocene stem-group representatives of parrots (Aves, Psittaciformes)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 136 (4): 715–729. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.729.6773. doi:10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00042.x.
  7. Ksepka, D.T.; Clarke, J.A.; Grande, L. (2011). "Stem Parrots (Aves, Halcyornithidae) from the Green River Formation and a Combined Phylogeny of Pan-Psittaciformes". Journal of Paleontology. 85 (5): 835–852. doi:10.1666/10-108.1.


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