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28 November 2019 A new species of Eogruidae (Aves: Gruiformes) from the Miocene of the Linxia Basin, Gansu, China: Evolutionary and climatic implications
Grace Musser, Zhiheng Li, Julia A. Clarke
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Abstract

Despite having one of the most robust fossil records within core-gruiform birds (rails, cranes, and allies), the biogeographic history of Gruidae (cranes) and key drivers of diversification within this group remain largely unknown. The Eogruidae of Eurasia represent some of the earliest known crane-like fossils. Here, we present description of a new species represented by a well-preserved specimen of a foot from the late Miocene (7–6.5 mya) Liushu Formation of Linxia Basin, Gansu, China. It is the only eogruid fossil that has been found in this formation and is the first eogruid known from northwest China. Linxia Basin is located along the margin of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, which allows for new insight into Miocene dispersal of the Eogruidae and potential climatological and geological connections. It is also the first specimen with an associated tarsometatarsus and nearly complete phalanges, including a claw, which provides further morphological information on this taxon. Referral of the new specimen to Eogruidae is based on extreme reduction of the trochlea of metatarsal II, which is most similar to the condition present in the eogruid subclade traditionally termed Ergilornithidae.

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Grace Musser, Zhiheng Li, and Julia A. Clarke "A new species of Eogruidae (Aves: Gruiformes) from the Miocene of the Linxia Basin, Gansu, China: Evolutionary and climatic implications," The Auk 137(1), 1-13, (28 November 2019). https://doi.org/10.1093/auk/ukz067
Received: 29 June 2019; Accepted: 11 October 2019; Published: 28 November 2019
KEYWORDS
biogeography
China
Eogruidae
evolution
Linxia
morphology
Palaeoclimate
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