Cousteauvia

Cousteauvia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Genus:	† Cousteauvia Nikita V. Zelenkov, 2020
Species:	†C. kustovia
Binomial name
†Cousteauvia kustovia Nikita V. Zelenkov, 2020

Cousteauvia is an extinct genus of diving anseriform. It contains a single species, Cousteauvia kustovia. The species is the earliest known diving duck, having been recovered from Priabonian deposits. It was discovered in East Kazakhstan by Russian paleontologist Nikita Zelenkov in 2020. ^[1]

Etymology

The genus name Cousteauvia of this species is named, in honor from French explorer, Jacques Cousteau. Meanwhile, its species name Kustov was taken from Kusto Svita, the place where it was discovered by Nikita Zelenkov. ^[1]

Description

The bones discovered by Nikita Zelenkov was a tarsometatarsus, it is high and has only two pronounced crests bordering one medial canal (for the tendon of m. flexor dig-itorum longus) together with a plantarly located sulcus. This structure of the hypotarsus is definitively more derived than in Anhimidae and fossil Presbyornithidae, which have only one medial sulcus.

Ecology

Based on the thick bone walls of Cousteauvia, it may have been a specialized diver. Also, based on the remains. Cousteauvia was a quick and also imperfect swimmer as compared with the modern ducks of today. Its diet consists of small aquatic prey. ^[1]

References

1. Zelenkov, Nikita (2020). "The oldest diving anseriform bird from the late Eocene of Kazakhstan and the evolution of aquatic adaptations in the intertarsal joint of waterfowl" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 65. doi:10.4202/app.00764.2020. ISSN   0567-7920. S2CID   229377144. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.