Eremopezus

Eremopezus
Temporal range: Late Eocene
36–33 Ma
↓
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Family: †Eremopezidae
Rothschild, 1911[1]
Genus: †Eremopezus
Andrews, 1904
Species:
†E. eocaenus
Binomial name
†Eremopezus eocaenus
Andrews, 1904
Synonyms

Genus:

  • Stromeria Lambrecht, 1929

Species:

  • Stromeria fajumensis Lambrecht, 1929
  • Stromeria fayumensis Lambrecht, 1933 (unjustified emendation)

Eremopezus is a prehistoric bird genus, possibly a palaeognath.[2][3] It is known only from the fossil remains of a single species, the huge and presumably flightless Eremopezus eocaenus. This was found in Upper Eocene Jebel Qatrani Formation deposits around the Qasr el Sagha escarpment, north of the Birket Qarun lake near Faiyum in Egypt. The rocks its fossils occur in were deposited in the Priabonian, with the oldest dating back to about 36 million years ago (Ma) and the youngest not less than about 33 Ma.[4]

It is not precisely known from which strata the first few remains of this bird were collected. They were formerly considered of Early Oligocene age—some 33-30 Ma—but this is now assumed incorrect, as only the upper and not the entire Jebel Qatrani Formation is of Oligocene age. It is also possible that they are from the slightly older Qasr el Sagha Formation, but as both this and the Oligocene parts of the Jebel Qatrani Formation were laid down in an ecosystem markedly different from that of the Eocene Jebel Qatrani Formation, it is now assumed that all material of E. eocaenus is from the lowest rocks of the Jebel Qatrani Formation.[5]

  1. ^ "Lambrecht, 1933", e.g. in Brodkorb (1963) p.205, is in error: Rasmussen et al. (2001)
  2. ^ Mitchell K. J., Llamas B., Soubrier J., Rawlence N. J., Worthy T. H., Wood J., Lee M. S. Y., Cooper A. (2014). "Ancient DNA reveals elephant birds and kiwi are sister taxa and clarifies ratite bird evolution". Science. 344 (6186): 898–900. Bibcode:2014Sci...344..898M. doi:10.1126/science.1251981. hdl:2328/35953. PMID 24855267. S2CID 206555952.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Agnolin; et al. (2016). "Unexpected diversity of ratites (Aves, Palaeognathae) in the early Cenozoic of South America: palaeobiogeographical implications". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 41: 1–11. doi:10.1080/03115518.2016.1184898. S2CID 132516050.
  4. ^ Rasmussen et al. (1987, 2001)
  5. ^ Brodkorb (1963) pp.205-206, Rasmussen et al. (1987, 2001)