Lithornis
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Lithornis Temporal range: Paleocene-Eocene, 56–40 Ma |
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| Woodcut of the L. vulturinus holotype | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | †Lithornithiformes |
| Family: | †Lithornithidae |
| Genus: |
†Lithornis Owen, 1840 |
| Species | |
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Lithornis celetius |
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Lithornis celetius
Lithornis hookeri
Lithornis nasi
Harrison, 1984
Lithornis plebius
Peter Houde, 1988
Lithornis promiscuus
Peter Houde, 1988
Lithornis vulturinus
Owen, 1840
Lithornis is a genus of extinct paleognathous birds. Lithornis were able to fly well, but are closely related to today's tinamous (which are poor flyers) and ratites (which are flightless birds).
Fossils of Lithornis are known with certainty from the Upper Paleocene through the Middle Eocene, but their fossil record may extend to the late Cretaceous. "Lithornis" is from ancient Greek for "stone bird", as it is one of the first fossil birds to become widely discussed. Presumably closely related genera are Paracathartes and Pseudocrypturus.
Six species have been recognized in modern times; undescribed ones are also likely to exist. The supposed tarsometatarsus piece from which "Lithornis" emuinus was described is actually a humerus fragment of the giant pseudotooth bird Dasornis.
Lithornis vulturinus
L. vulturinus was described as a vulture by Owen (1840) from the holotype fossil 955 738 - TM 024 717. The fossil was collected from Early Eocene London Clay deposits on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England by J. Hunter before 1793. This fossil was destroyed by bombing in World War II. Numerous isolated fossil bones of Lithornis vulturinus were incorrectly described anew, such as Parvigyps praecox and Promusophaga magnifica - the supposed earliest vulture and turaco, while others were referred to existing families of neognathous birds. A neotype (BMNH A 5204) was erected to replace the holotype in 1988 by Houde, who for the first time diagnosed it as a paleognath based on complete three-dimensional skulls and skeletons of congeners from North America. An exceptionally preserved specimen was collected from Denmark and cataloged as MGUH 26770.
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Wikipedia