| Pliolymbus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Podicipediformes |
| Family: | Podicipedidae |
| Genus: | † Pliolymbus Murray, 1967 |
| Type species | |
| †Pliolymbus baryosteus Murray, 1967 | |
Pliolymbus is a fossil genus of grebe known from the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of United States and Mexico. It is known from a single species, P. baryosteus.
The specimens were collected in the summer of 1950 from Kansas, United States by Claude W. Hibbard and the species was named in 1967 by Bertram G. Murray. The binomial nomenclature for the species means “heavy bone Pliocene diver” in reference of the age and skeletal features of the grebe. [1] Howard (1969) published a specimen collected from Lake Chapala from a series of field surveys in the region from 1926, 1958 and 1963. [2]
A total of six specimens of Pliolymbus have been recovered. The holotype consists of the anterior portion of the sternum (UMMP 51839). The additional specimens are a humerus (UMMP 51840), proximal of a coracoid (UMMP 51841), the shaft of a tarsometatarsus (UMMP 51844), and a more incomplete specimen that has more complete remains of coracoids, an ulna and carpometacarpus, a near complete cervical vertebrae and various portions of raddii, scapula, femur, synsacrum, two ribs and an unidentified bone (UMMP 27173). Pliolymbus was a genus of small grebe with an incredibly robust skeleton, more-so than the skeletons of extant grebes. The coracoid is similar in size to the least grebe and is more robust and has a broader base like those in the red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) and black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis). The distal end of the humerus is about the same size as the white-tufted grebe, but the humerus shaft is stouter. The ulna is also longer than the least grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus) and white-tufted grebe (Rollandia rolland) but short in comparison to the black-necked grebe. The robustness of the ulna however is comparable to the female members of the black-necked grebe. The carpometacarpus is comparable to the white-tufted grebe in length but the diameter of it is closer in size to female black-necked grebes, yet it is short overall in comparison with other grebes. [1] A Mexican specimen consisting of the upper right portion of the coracoid has also been recorded (LACM 2891). [2]
Pliolymbus has no close living relatives among the modern grebes, being part of an extinct lineage of grebes that died out by the end of the Pliocene. [1] However Olson (1985) question the validity of the genus and suggest Pliolymbus baryosteus might be a species of Podiceps instead. [3]
Pliolymbus is from the Piacenzian age of the Pliocene to the Gelasian age of the Pleistocene from the Fox Canyon section of the Rexroad Formation from Kansas [1] and Lake Chapala from Jalisco. [2]
Grebes are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes. Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Most grebes fly, although some flightless species exist, most notably in stable lakes. The order contains a single family, the Podicipedidae, which includes 22 species in six extant genera.
The American horned owls and the Old World eagle-owls make up the genus Bubo, at least as traditionally described. The genus name Bubo is Latin for owl. Its name in Russian филин is one of the few native Russian words containing the letter Ф.
The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, Anhinga. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and classified as near-threatened by the IUCN. The term snakebird is usually used without any additions to signify whichever of the completely allopatric species occurs in any one region. It refers to their long thin neck, which has a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged, or when mated pairs twist it during their bonding displays. "Darter" is used with a geographical term when referring to particular species. It alludes to their manner of procuring food, as they impale fishes with their thin, pointed beak. The American darter is more commonly known as the anhinga. It is sometimes called "water turkey" in the southern United States; though the anhinga is quite unrelated to the wild turkey, they are both large, blackish birds with long tails that are sometimes hunted for food.
The horned grebe or Slavonian grebe is a relatively small and threatened species of waterbird in the family Podicipedidae. There are two subspecies, P. a. auritus, which breeds in Eurasia, and P. a. cornutus, which breeds in North America. The Eurasian subspecies is distributed over most of northern Europe and northern Asia, breeding from Iceland east to the Russian Far East. The North American subspecies spans most of Canada and some of the United States. A small population was cited in Greenland in 1973, but is not mapped or further mentioned by subsequent authors.
Podiceps is a genus of birds in the grebe family. The genus name comes from Latin podicis, "rear-end" and ped, "foot", and is a reference to the placement of a grebe's legs towards the rear of its body.
Strix is a genus of owls in the typical owl family (Strigidae), one of the two generally accepted living families of owls, with the other being Tytonidae. Common names are earless owls or wood owls, though they are not the only owls without ear tufts, and "wood owl" is also used as a more generic name for forest-dwelling owls.
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.
Pelagornis is an extinct genus of prehistoric pseudotooth birds, a group of extinct seabirds. Species span from the Oligocene to the Early Pleistocene. Members of Pelagornis represent among the largest pseudotooth birds, with one species. P. sandersi, having the widest wingspan of any bird known.
Pinguinus alfrednewtoni is an extinct species of auk related to the great auk known from fossils that were discovered in the Pliocene Yorktown Formation of North Carolina. Like the great auk, it was a large flightless diving bird that used its wings to propel itself forward underwater. Only a limited amount of material is known, despite the rich diversity of fossil auks recovered from the Yorktown Formation. Due to this, it has been proposed that it was either a more coastal animal or simply not as common in more southern waters. This later suggestion could be supported by the discovery of relatively young P. alfrednewtoni remains, indicating that they may have overwintered in the region. One early hypothesis proposed that it was a direct ancestor to the great auk, but this idea is no longer supported. Instead, it is thought that it filled the same niche as its eastern relative, which eventually expanded into the western Atlantic after the extinction of P. alfrednewtoni.
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.
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.
Aechmophorus elasson is an extinct species of grebe recovered from the Piacenzian age of the United States.
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.
Podilymbus majusculus is an extinct species of grebe recovered from the Piacenzian age of the United States.
Podiceps oligoceanus is an extinct species of grebe possibly from the Neogene period which the specimen has been found in the United States.
Podiceps howardae is a possible extinct species of grebe from the United States, possibly a larger and earlier form of the horned grebe.
Podiceps solidus is an extinct small species of Upper Miocene to Lower Pliocene grebe from Western Mongolia.
Podiceps discors is an extinct species of grebe from the Upper Pliocene of western North America. It was similar to the black-necked grebe.
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