Presbyornis
Presbyornis is an extinct genus of water bird. It was a wading bird, often walking in shallow water on its long legs.
| Presbyornis Temporal range:
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| An assemblage of Presbyornis pervetus skeletons (AMNH 28505) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | †Presbyornithidae |
| Genus: | †Presbyornis Wetmore, 1926 |
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Presbyornis was one of the first anseriforms. Because of its long legs and neck, it was initially mistaken for a flamingo. Later it was reclassified as an anseriform when the duck-like anatomy of its skull and bill was found. It is from an extinct group closely related to ducks and geese. Judging from numerous fossil findings, Presbyornis probably lived in colonies around shallow lakes. Its broad, flat bill was used to filter food (small plants and animals) from the water, in the manner of today's dabbling ducks.[3]
The fossil record includes many complete skeletons from Green River Formation sites (early Eocene).[4] This suggests that the birds nested in colonies, similar to many colony-nesting waterfowl or shorebirds today. Species of this bird have also been found in Maryland, Utah, England,[5] and Mongolia.[6] Fossils are held in the Smithsonian Institution, the Natural History Museum, London, and the KUVP.
References
change- ↑ De Pietri, V.L.; Scofield, R.P.; Zelenkov, N.; Boles, W.E.; Worthy, T.H. (2016). "The unexpected survival of an ancient lineage of anseriform birds into the Neogene of Australia: the youngest record of Presbyornithidae". Royal Society Open Science. 3 (2): 150635. Bibcode:2016RSOS....350635D. doi:10.1098/rsos.150635. PMC 4785986. PMID 26998335.
- ↑ Zelenkov, N. V. (2021). "A revision of the Palaeocene–Eocene Mongolian Presbyornithidae (Aves: Anseriformes)". Paleontological Journal. 55 (3). doi:10.31857/S0031031X21030132.
- ↑ Palmer D. (ed) 1999. The Marshall illustrated encyclopedia of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals. London: Marshall Editions, 181. ISBN 1-84028-152-9
- ↑ Wetmore, Alexander 1926. Fossil birds from the Green River Deposits of Eastern Utah. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 16: 391-402.
- ↑ Dyke, Gareth J. 2001. The fossil waterfowl (Aves: Anseriformes) from the Eocene of England. American Museum Novitates 3354: 1-15. [1] Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Kurochkin, Evgeny N; Dyke, Gareth J. & Karhu, Alexandr A. 2002. A new Presbyornithid bird (Aves, Anseriformes) from the late Cretaceous of southern Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 3386: 1-11. [2][permanent dead link]