| Gavia schultzi Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Wing elements of Gavia schultzi preserved on Slab B | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gaviiformes |
| Family: | Gaviidae |
| Genus: | Gavia |
| Species: | †G. schultzi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Gavia schultzi Mlíkovský, 1998 | |
Gavia schultzi is an extinct species of loon from the Middle Miocene of Austria. It is amongst the oldest known species in the genus and larger than the older Gavia egeriana from the Early Miocene Czech Republic.
The remains of Gavia schultzi was discovered in 1986 by a private collector that later donated the specimens to the Natural History Museum Vienna. Four slabs of rock containing the bones of Gavia schultzi are known in addition to more free remains. The type specimen, slab A, contains the right coracoid. A second slab preserves several bones of both wings while a third only contains the end of the right humerus and part of the opposing ulna. The final slab contains only a fragment of the right ulna. In addition to these bones encased in rock, a loose element of the left ulna is also known. Although not certain, it is possible that all these remains belong to a single animal. All remains stem from a locality close to the town of Sankt Margarethen im Burgenland. They date to the Badenian stage of the Miocene. [1]
The species was named by Czech paleontologist and ornithologist Jiří Mlíkovský in 1998. The name honors Ortwin Schultz for his contributions to Austrian paleontology. [1]
Gavia schultzi was larger than the older Gavia egeriana, but smaller than Gavia moldavica. The distal end of the humerus in this species is notably less robust than in the modern members of the genus, a trait it shares with Gavia egeriana. It however differs from the older species in the details of that bone. The ventral epicondylus (where the humerus connects to the forearm) features larger but less distinct attachment points for ligament. Meanwhile, the supracondylar tuberculum is ventrally larger, but with less distinct margins. [1] The area where the coracoid borders the sternum is concave, which sets Gavia schultzi apart from Petralca austriaca , another gaviiform from Austria. [2]
The rock units Gavia schultzi was recovered from indicate that it lived in a marine environment. Several fish remains have also been found there. [1]
Gaviiformes is an order of aquatic birds containing the loons or divers and their closest extinct relatives. Modern gaviiformes are found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia, though prehistoric species were more widespread.
Loons or divers are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus Gavia, family Gaviidae and order Gaviiformes.
Osteodontornis is an extinct seabird genus. It contains a single named species, Osteodontornis orri, which was described quite exactly one century after the first species of the Pelagornithidae was. O. orri was named after then-recently deceased naturalist Ellison Orr.
The Pelagornithidae, commonly called pelagornithids, pseudodontorns, bony-toothed birds, false-toothed birds or pseudotooth birds, are a prehistoric family of large seabirds. Their fossil remains have been found all over the world in rocks dating between the Early Paleocene and the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary.
Eurotrochilus is an extinct genus of stem group hummingbirds (Trochilidae) and are the closest known relatives of the crown group Trochilidae. Despite Eurotrochilus being morphologically very similar to modern hummingbirds, they still retained several primitive features and are not closely related to any specific extant hummingbird in the crown group. There are currently two described species of Eurotrochilus: E. inexpectatus and E. noniewiczi.
Odontopteryx is a genus of the extinct pseudotooth birds or pelagornithids. These were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertainty.
Cyphornis is a genus of the prehistoric pseudotooth birds. These were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertainty.
Dasornis is a genus of the prehistoric pseudotooth birds. These were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertainty.
Pelagornis is a widespread genus of prehistoric pseudotooth birds. These were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertainty.
Pseudodontornis is a rather disputed genus of the prehistoric pseudotooth birds. The pseudotooth birds or pelagornithids were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertainty. Up to five species are commonly recognized in this genus.
Macrodontopteryx is a genus of the prehistoric pseudotooth birds of somewhat doubtful validity. These animals were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertainty.
Bellubrunnus is an extinct genus of rhamphorhynchid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic of southern Germany. It contains a single species, Bellubrunnus rothgaengeri. Bellubrunnus is distinguished from other rhamphorhynchids by its lack of long projections on the vertebrae of the tail, fewer teeth in the jaws, and wingtips that curve forward rather than sweep backward as in other pterosaurs.
Bambolinetta lignitifila is a fossil species of waterfowl from the Late Miocene of Italy, now classified as the sole member of the genus Bambolinetta. First described in 1884 as a typical dabbling duck, it was not revisited until 2014, when a study showed it to be a highly unusual duck species, probably a flightless, wing-propelled diver similar to a penguin.
Petralca is an extinct genus of loon found in Oligocene and Miocene deposits of Austria. The type and only species, Petralca austriaca, was described in 1987. It is the only member of the Petralcinae subfamily. Originally thought to be the oldest representative of auk in Europe, it was reinterpreted as a member of Gaviiformes by Göhlich & Mayr (2018).
Fukuipteryx is an extinct genus of basal avialan dinosaurs found in Early Cretaceous deposits from Japan's Kitadani Formation. It contains one species, Fukuipteryx prima.
Annakacygna is a genus of flightless marine swan from the Miocene of Japan. Named in 2022, Annakacygna displays a series of unique adaptations setting it apart from any other known swan, including a filter feeding lifestyle, a highly mobile tail and wings that likely formed a cradle for their hatchlings in a fashion similar to modern mute swans. Additionally, it may have used both wings and tail as a form of display. All of these traits combined have led the researchers working on it to dub it "the ultimate bird". Two species are known, A. hajimei, which was approximately the size of a black swan, and A. yoshiiensis which exceeded the mute swan in both size and weight. The describing authors proposed the vernacular name Annaka short-winged swan for the genus.
Gavia howardae is an extinct species of loon from the Piacenzian age from United States. Fossils of this bird were initially found in 1947 by Clifford Kennell in the San Diego Formation, California and were given a name in 1953 by Pierce Brodkorb. These first specimens consisted of humeri bones, which Brodkorb indicated based on the distal end of the humerus were a smaller species of the genus Gavia, with a possible relationship with the pacific loon. More specimens were collected from the same deposits covering the entirety of the wing, some more complete than others. Chandler (1990) described and published these new materials and found G. howardae to be related to the red-throated loon instead. Additional material has been recovered from the Yorktown Formation, North Carolina where in addition more wing bones, there were also remains of the leg and shoulder regions. Based on the overall size of the remains, G. howardae was on average smaller than the red-throated loon, and one of the smallest species of Neogene loons from North America.
Gavia egeriana is an extinct species of loon from the Miocene epoch, where the holotype was found in Dolnice, Czech Republic dating to the Burdigalian. The holotype consisted of two distal ends of the humeri bones. Other more completed material has been found in the Calvert Formation from the Chesapeake Group in the United States, with possible material from the Pungo River Formation from North Carolina. These material consist of the right coracoid and nearly two-thirds of a right ulna and date to the Langhian. G. egeriana was a very small species of loon and it was the earliest, possibly the ancestral species that gave raise to the other species in the genus.
Thiornis is a fossil genus of Middle Miocene grebe known from a nearly complete specimen from Libros, Spain. Originally classified as a type of moorhen, Thiornis has since been classified as a species of grebe. The overall anatomy of the bird is identical to modern grebes. It contains a single species, T. sociata.
Miodytes is a fossil genus of grebe known from a nearly complete specimen from Valjevo Basin, western Serbia known from an almost complete right wing skeleton. It contains a single species, M. serbicus.