Eoanseranas handae Temporal range: Late Oligocene to Early Miocene, 26–24 Ma |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Anseriformes |
Family: | Anseranatidae |
Genus: |
†Eoanseranas Worthy & Scanlon, 2009 |
Species: | †E. handae |
Binomial name | |
Eoanseranas handae Worthy & Scanlon, 2009 |
Eoanseranas handae, also sometimes referred to as Hand's dawn magpie goose, is an extinct genus and species of bird, in the magpie goose family, from the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene of northern Australia. It was described from fossil material (a left coracoid and two left scapulae) found at a Carl Creek Limestone site at Riversleigh, in the Boodjamulla National Park of north-western Queensland. It was slightly smaller than its perceived descendant, the extant magpie goose. The generic name comes from the Greek eos (“dawn”) and Anseranas (the genus of the monotypic magpie goose). The specific epithet honours Australian palaeontologist Suzanne Hand, a prominent researcher of the fossil faunas of Riversleigh.