| Parapsittacopes Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Psittacopasseres |
| Family: | † Psittacopedidae |
| Genus: | † Parapsittacopes Mayr, 2020 |
| Type species | |
| †Parapsittacopes bergdahli Mayr, 2020 | |
Parapsittacopes is an extinct genus of psittacopedid bird from the Early Eocene London Clay, United Kingdom. The genus contains one species, Parapsittacopes bergdahli.
The holotype of Parasittacopes was collected from the London Clay near Walton-on-the-Naze by Paul Bergdahl of Kirby-le-Soken, a private collector. The specimen later became available to science with the help of Bergdahl's son, and is designated SMF Av 653. The specimen consists of a partial skeleton, including the skull, some of the jaw bones, several vertebrae, parts of the scapula, coracoid, and furcula, parts of many wing bones, and significant portions of the legs and feet. [1]
In 2020, Parapsittacopes bergdahli was described as a new genus and species of psittacopedid by Gerald Mayr. The generic name is from Greek para, meaning "next to", and Psittacopes, the type genus of the Psittacopedidae to which Parapsittacopes is referred. The specific ephitet bergdahli is after Paul Bergdahl, the collector who initially discovered and excavated the holotype. [1]
In 2022, additional material of the specimen NMS.Z.2021.40.43 was referred to Parapsittacopes. This specimen preserves bones of the wings, including parts of the ulnae, a radius, portions of the humerus, a left coracoid, part of a scapula, and several bones of the manus. [2]
Parapsittacopes was a moderately small bird, about the size of the Speckled mousebird (Colius striatus). The upper beak is less than half the length of the skull as a whole, and is short and wide. The openings of the nostrils are very large. The beak is comparable to that of the Bohemian waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus). The coracoid bears a large procoracoid process, protruding from the side of the bone, and does not have a foramen for the supracoracoid nerve but rather a groove. The keel has a sharply pointed tip which protrudes forward. The humerus is short and wide, resembling that of mousebirds. The ulna is longer than the radius. In the pelvis, the ilium is not co-ossified with the synsacrum, a condition rare in modern arboreal birds. The femur is relatively long. There is a depression of the trochlea of the third toe and a splayed trochlea of the fourth toe, indicating that Parapsittacopes had a zygodactyl foot arrangement. [1]
Parapsittacopes was a member of the Psittacopedidae, a family of small birds that are likely a stem lineage related to the Passeriformes, the songbirds. Cladogram after analyses based solely on morphological data, Mayr (2020): [1]
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However, this morphological analysis does not agree with studies based on DNA. When constrained to those molecular results, Parapsittacopes, along with the rest of the Psittacopedidae, were found to be most closely related to a clade of the Passeriformes and the Zygodactylidae, another extinct family of small arboreal birds of the Eocene. [1]
Parapsittacopes had a unique beak shape among the Psittacopedidae, which may be compared to extant birds: large nostrils and the curve of the beak resemble that of swifts and treeswifts, while the outline of the bill is similar to that of waxwings. This beak shape indicates that Parapsittacopes might have eaten fruit and caught insects by flying out from a perch. The resemblance in beak shape to swifts and treeswifts suggest that Parapsittacopes primarily ate insects. Unlike in modern songbirds and in the Zygodactylidae, Psittacopes has short legs, which might indicate that it walked on trees on the ground less than songbirds, rather choosing to remain perched on branches. [1]
The beak shape of Psittacopes also provides insight into the disappearance of birds like it and Psittacopes . These birds had specialised diets and feeding styles, as shown by the variety of beak types they had. This could have made them more vulnerable to competition, facilitating the replacement of this family, one of the first kinds of neornithean to be small and arboreal. [1]
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.
Psittacopes is an extinct genus of bird from Middle Eocene. One species is recorded from Messel, Germany, and other three possible species are from London Clay, England, one named ?Psittacopes occidentalis in 2022, and the other two unnamed. Its phylogenetic placement within Aves is uncertain; it was originally interpreted as a parrot, but the phylogenetic analysis conducted by Mayr (2015) recovered it as more closely related to the passerines and the extinct family Zygodactylidae.
Eurofluvioviridavis is a genus of extinct primitive birds from the Middle Eocene Messel Pit, Germany. It contains a single species, Eurofluvioviridavis robustipes. It is related to Avolatavis and Vastanavis, other members of the family Vastanavidae.
Vastanavidae is an extinct family of birds related to parrots and passerine birds. They are known from fossils from Eocene sites in India, Europe, and North America. The vastanavids resemble parrots and the extinct parrot relative Quercypsitta in their morphology, including the partially zygodactyl foot, in which two toes could face opposite the other two.
Halcyornithidae is an extinct family of telluravian birds thought to be related to the Psittaciformes (parrots), Passeriformes (songbirds), and to the extinct Messelasturidae. Halcyornithids have been found in various Eocene formations in Europe and North America. Widespread and diverse in the Early Eocene of North America and Europe, halcyornithids are not found in locales later than the Middle Eocene. Halcyornithids were small, arboreal birds with zygodactyl feet, with two toes facing forwards and two facing back, a trait shared with other tree-dwelling families of Eocene birds like the Zygodactylidae and the messelasturids. The skull of halcyornithids features a ridge of bone above the eye called the supraorbital process, similar to birds of prey. The relationships of the halcyornithids to other birds remain uncertain. Halcyornithids have been proposed as relatives to owls and as a lineage closer to parrots than to songbirds. Most recently, halcyornithids have been identified as the sister group of the clade including parrots and songbirds. It is also possible that Halcyornithidae is paraphyletic with respect to the Messelasturidae.
Oligocolius is an unusual genus of extinct mousebird from the early to late Oligocene epoch of Germany. Oligocolius is known from two species, the type species O. brevitarsus and O. psittacocephalon. Oligocolius is a member of the family of modern mousebirds (Coliidae) and is broadly similar to them in shape. However, unlike modern mouse birds the skull and beak of Oligocolius closely resembles those of parrots, and appears to be specialised for a distinct lifestyle not found in living mousebirds.
Morsoravis is an extinct genus of neoavian bird from the Early Eocene Fur Formation of Denmark. It contains a single named species, Morsoravis sedilis. Fossils of Morsoravis have also been found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming and possibly the Nanjemoy Formation of Virginia.
Danielsraptor is an extinct genus of masillaraptorid bird from the Early Eocene (Ypresian) Walton Member of the London Clay Formation in Essex, United Kingdom. The genus contains a single species, D. phorusrhacoides, known from a partial skeleton.
Lutavis is an extinct genus of potentially afroavian bird from the Early Eocene London Clay Formation of Essex, United Kingdom. The genus contains a single species, L. platypelvis, known from a partial skeleton.
Waltonavis is an extinct genus of potentially leptosomiform bird from the Early Eocene London Clay Formation of Essex, United Kingdom. The genus contains two species: W. paraleptosomus and W. danielsi, both known from partial skeletons.
Psittacomimus is an extinct genus of psittacopedid bird from the Early Eocene London Clay Formation of Essex, United Kingdom. The genus contains a single species, P. eos, known from a partial skeleton.
Minutornis is an extinct genus of parapasserine bird from the Early Eocene London Clay Formation of Essex, United Kingdom. The genus contains a single species, M. primoscenoides, known from a fragmentary skeleton.
Adelalopus is an extinct genus of palaelodid bird from the lowermost Oligocene of Belgium. It is the oldest member of its family and the largest known palaelodid from Europe, slightly larger than Megapaloelodus goliath. It contains a single species, Adelalopus hoogbutseliensis.
Charadriisimilis is an extinct genus of charadriiform birds from the Early Eocene (Ypresian) London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze, United Kingdom. The genus contains a single species, Charadriisimilis essexensis, known from partial postcranial remains.
Pulchrapollia is an extinct genus of halcyornithid bird from the Early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze, United Kingdom and the Nanjemoy Formation of Virginia, United States. The genus contains three species, Pulchrapollia gracilis, Pulchrapollia tenuipes and Pulchrapollia eximia.
Pseudasturides is an extinct genus of halcyornithid bird from the Middle Eocene Messel pit in Hesse, Germany, and possibly the Isle of Sheppey, United Kingdom. The genus is represented by a single species, Pseudasturides macrocephalus.
Serudaptus is an extinct genus of halcyornithid bird from the Middle Eocene Messel pit in Hesse, Germany. The genus contains one species, Serudaptus pohli, and is known for long, raptorial claws on its zygodactyl feet.
Eofringillirostrum is an extinct species of bird known from the Early Eocene Green River Formation of the Western United States and from the Messel Pit in Germany. The genus contains two species, Eofringillirostrum boudreauxi and Eofringillirostrum parvulum. They are the earliest known fossil birds to have a finch-like beak.
Sororavis is an extinct genus of bird from the Early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze, United Kingdom. It contains a single named species, Sororavis solitarius. It is a member of the Morsoravidae.
Morsoravidae is a family of extinct birds known from the Early Eocene of Europe and North America, related to the Psittacopasseres, the clade containing parrots and songbirds. They have specialised feeding ecologies, and one morsoravid, Pumiliornis tesselatus, fed on nectar. The family contains the genera Morsoravis, Pumiliornis, and Sororavis.