Podiceps csarnotanus is an extinct species of Upper Pliocene grebe from Hungary.

Podiceps csarnotanus
Temporal range: Zanclean–Piacenzian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Podicipediformes
Family: Podicipedidae
Genus: Podiceps
Species:
P. csarnotanus
Binomial name
Podiceps csarnotanus
Kessler, 2009

History edit

The species was described by Eugene Kessler in 2009 as part of a series of papers that described fossil material that have been retrieved form the Carpathian Basin. The species name "csarnotanus" is named after the site it was discovered Csarnóta.[1]

Description edit

The holotype (MÁFI V. 09. 61. 1) is the distal fragment of the right ulna, which the size of it falls in between the horned grebe (P. auritus) and the red-necked grebe (P. grisegena). In comparison to the recent species of Podiceps and the Aechmophorus, the condylus ventralis is elongated and prominent. The condylus dorsalis is rounded, while in modern Podiceps and Aechmophorus it just emerges. The cranial surface of the diaphysis is slightly convex, not flat unlike in modern Podiceps.[1]

Paleobiology edit

P. csarnotanus comes from the Carpathian Basin which is located in South Hungary. The locality of which, Csarnóta–2, dates to the ages from the Zanclean to the Piacenzian. The species was part of an avifauna consisted of Neogene genera as well as extant or modern genera of birds.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Kessler, E. (2009). "Új Eredmények a Kárpát-medence Neogén és Negyedidöszaki Madárvilágához I: New Results with Regard to the Neogene and Quatenary Avifauna of the Carpathian Basin Part I." Földtani Közlöni. 139 (1): 67–82.