Neocathartes
Encyclopedia
Neocathartes is an extinct genus
of gruiform
bird
. It contains a single named species, Neocathartes grallator ("walking new turkey vulture"), known from some fossil
bones found in Late Eocene
(c.37-34 mya) Washakie Formation deposits of Wyoming
. Similar bones have been recovered from the Early Eocene Willwood Formation. The genus originally set up by Wetmore, Eocathartes, was already in use for an unrelated fossil bird from Germany
, so a new genus had to be established for the Wyoming fossil (Wetmore, 1950).
Initially mistaken for a walking New World vulture
, Neocathartes is now classified as a bathornitid, a family of cariamaeans
. Neocathartes was a slender bird, around the size of a turkey vulture
. Although it was capable of flight, it probably stayed on the ground most of the time, as evidenced by its long legs. Its lifestyle was most likely comparable to that of the modern-day secretary bird
, or the seriema
(to which the bathornithids were distantly related).
The misattribution of Neocathartes was resolved by Storrs Olson (1985). Usually a serious, no-nonsense scientist, he could not help noting,
He considered the genus Neocathartes a junior synonym of Bathornis, but this was usually rejected by subsequent studies.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of gruiform
Gruiformes
The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
. It contains a single named species, Neocathartes grallator ("walking new turkey vulture"), known from some fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
bones found in Late Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
(c.37-34 mya) Washakie Formation deposits of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. Similar bones have been recovered from the Early Eocene Willwood Formation. The genus originally set up by Wetmore, Eocathartes, was already in use for an unrelated fossil bird from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, so a new genus had to be established for the Wyoming fossil (Wetmore, 1950).
Initially mistaken for a walking New World vulture
New World vulture
The New World Vulture or Condor family Cathartidae contains seven species in fivegenera, all but one of which are monotypic. It includes five vultures and two condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas....
, Neocathartes is now classified as a bathornitid, a family of cariamaeans
Cariamae
Cariamae is a suggested name for a group of primarily flightless birds that have been around for 63 million years. The group includes the families Cariamidae, Phorusrhacidae, Bathornithidae, Idiornithidae and Ameghinornithidae...
. Neocathartes was a slender bird, around the size of a turkey vulture
Turkey Vulture
The Turkey Vulture is a bird found throughout most of the Americas. It is also known in some North American regions as the Turkey Buzzard , and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John Crow or Carrion Crow...
. Although it was capable of flight, it probably stayed on the ground most of the time, as evidenced by its long legs. Its lifestyle was most likely comparable to that of the modern-day secretary bird
Secretary Bird
The Secretarybird or Secretary Bird is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savannah of the sub-Sahara...
, or the seriema
Seriema
The seriemas are the sole extant members of the small and ancient family Cariamidae, which is also the sole surviving family of the Cariamae. Once believed to be related to cranes, they have been placed by one recent study near the falcons, parrots and passerines, as well as the extinct terror birds...
(to which the bathornithids were distantly related).
The misattribution of Neocathartes was resolved by Storrs Olson (1985). Usually a serious, no-nonsense scientist, he could not help noting,
The reconstruction published with the original description of Neocathartes has often been reprinted and has now made the "terrestrial vulture" an integral part of the lore of avian paleontology. Well, forget it.
Neocathartes is just our old friend Bathornis in another guise.
He considered the genus Neocathartes a junior synonym of Bathornis, but this was usually rejected by subsequent studies.
External links
- An outdated reconstruction of Neocathartes as a walking New World vulture
- A much more accurate reconstruction (though details are still conjectural of course)
