A Giant Early Pleistocene Bird from Eastern Europe: Unexpected Component of Terrestrial Faunas at the Time of Early Homo Arrival

@article{Zelenkov2019AGE,
  title={A Giant Early Pleistocene Bird from Eastern Europe: Unexpected Component of Terrestrial Faunas at the Time of Early Homo Arrival},
  author={Nikita V. Zelenkov and Alexander V. Lavrov and Dmitry Startsev and Innessa А. Vislobokova and Alexey V. Lopatin},
  journal={Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology},
  year={2019},
  volume={39},
  pages={1 - 7}
}
ABSTRACT Giant birds, comparable in size to elephant birds and moa, have never been reported from Europe. Here, we describe a femur from the lower Pleistocene of the north Black Sea area (Crimea) that is referred to Pachystruthio dmanisensis, comb. nov., a giant bird with an estimated body mass of about 450 kg. This value makes this extinct bird one of the largest known avians (comparable to Aepyornis maximus) and the only bird of such giant size in Europe and the Northern Hemisphere in general… Expand
View on BioOne
7 Citations
Background Citations
2

7 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

First Record of a Giant Bird (Ornithuromorpha) from the Uppermost Maastrichtian of the Southern Pyrenees, Northeast Spain
ABSTRACT Throughout the evolutionary history of Avialae, several members of this clade have evolved into giant forms, in different time periods and ecological contexts. In Europe, the first birds… Expand
Early Pleistocene fauna of the Olteţ River Valley of Romania: Biochronological and biogeographic implications
Abstract The Early Pleistocene of Eurasia is marked by significant climatic, environmental, and faunal shifts and is the time during which Homo first appears in the Eurasian fossil record. To better… Expand
A Giant Ostrich from the Lower Pleistocene Nihewan Formation of North China, with a Review of the Fossil Ostriches of China
A large incomplete ostrich femur from the Lower Pleistocene of North China, kept at the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle (Paris), is described. It was found by Father Emile Licent in 1925 in the… Expand
The late Cenozoic history of the ostriches (Aves: Struthionidae), as revealed by fossil eggshell and bone remains
Abstract Ostriches (Struthionidae) are iconic Old-World giant flightless birds. The two living African species represent only a small part of ancient struthionid diversity, which comprises a number… Expand
First description of an ostrich from the late Miocene of Kerassia (Euboea, Greece): remarks on its cervical anatomy
ABSTRACT The present study describes an almost complete cervical region of the fossil ostrich Struthio karatheodoris from the Turolian locality of Kerassia (Euboea, Greece). The material comes from… Expand
The Miocene: The Future of the Past
The Miocene epoch (23.03–5.33 Ma) was a time interval of global warmth, relative to today. Continental configurations and mountain topography transitioned towards modern conditions, and many flora… Expand
The 90th Anniversary of the Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences: from the “Golden Age” of Paleontology to New Perspectives
The main directions and results of the Paleontological Institute’s activities over the past 40 years are considered. The demand for paleontological research conducted by the Institute’s scientists… Expand

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 88 REFERENCES
Synopsis of the terrestrial vertebrate faunas from the Middle Kura Basin (Eastern Georgia and Western Azerbaijan, South Caucasus)
This paper summarizes knowledge on the Neogene–Quaternary terrestrial fossil record from the Middle Kura Basin accumulated over a century and aims to its integration into the current research. This… Expand
Southeastern Europe as a Route for the Earliest Dispersal of Homo Toward Europe: Ecological Conditions and the Timing of the First Human Occupation of Europe
In recent years, an increasing number of discoveries have supported the idea that human occupation of Europe took place earlier than expected, during the Villafranchian and significantly predating 1… Expand
Unexpected diversity within the extinct elephant birds (Aves: Aepyornithidae) and a new identity for the world's largest bird
TLDR
This new taxonomic framework for the Aepyornithidae provides an important new baseline for future studies of avian evolution and the Quaternary ecology of Madagascar and is described as the first taxonomic reassessment of the family for over 50 years. Expand
A large ergilornithine (Aves, Gruiformes) from the Late Miocene of the Balkan Peninsula
Abstract A very large alledged bustard, Otishellenica (Boev et al. in Geol Balc 42:59–64, 2013), described from the Late Miocene of the continental Greece, is reinterpreted here as a member of… Expand
Earliest human occupations at Dmanisi (Georgian Caucasus) dated to 1.85–1.78 Ma
TLDR
The secure age for D manisi's first occupations reveals that Eurasia was probably occupied before Homo erectus appears in the East African fossil record, and shows that the southern Caucasus was occupied repeatedly before Dmanisi's hominin fossil assemblage accumulated. Expand
Revision of the fossil vole assemblage (Mammalia, Rodentia, Arvicolidae) from Pleistocene deposits at Kisláng, Hungary
:  The species-rich fossil vertebrate assemblage from Pleistocene sedimentary deposits at Kislang, Hungary, was originally described as containing eight species of arvicolids, six of which were… Expand
Giant Ostrich in Dmanisi Fauna
TLDR
Presence of remains of ostrich in old deposits unmistakably points to the predominance in the region of favorable conditions of climate in the second half of the Pliocene on the territory of the South Caucasus. Expand
A Giant Flightless Bird from the Pleistocene of Florida
TLDR
The fossil here described, from a fluvial deposit in northern Florida, is a bird of tremendous size, larger than the African ostrich and more than twice the size of the South American rhea. Expand
Avian Evolution: The Fossil Record of Birds and its Paleobiological Significance
TLDR
This book gives an overview of the avian fossil record and its paleobiological significance, and it is the only up-to-date textbook that covers both Mesozoic and more modern-type Cenozoic birds in some detail. Expand
Pollen evidence for Late Pliocene - Early Pleistocene vegetation and climate change in the North Caucasus, North-Western Caspian Region
Abstract Pollen and spores have been analysed in deposits of the Akchagylian–Apsheronian in the north-western Caspian Sea region, providing a picture of past vegetation and climate change for the… Expand
...
1
2
3
4
5
...