Jamaican ibis

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Jamaican ibis
Temporal range: Early
Ma
↓
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Threskiornithidae
Genus: †Xenicibis
Olson & Steadman, 1977
Species:
†X. xympithecus
Binomial name
†Xenicibis xympithecus
Olson & Steadman, 1977
Former range (in red)

The Jamaican ibis, Jamaican flightless ibis

ibis subfamily uniquely characterized by its club-like wings.[3] It is the only species in the genus Xenicibis,[1] and one of only two flightless ibis genera,[2][3] the other being the genus Apteribis which was endemic to Hawaii's islands of Maui Nui.[2][4]

Description

The species was first described in 1977 based on postcranial bone elements excavated in a cave deposit at

distally with thickened walls, while the ulna and radius have been modified as well. From its maximum femur diameter of 8.7 mm, it has been estimated that the Jamaican Ibis weighed about 2 kg (70 oz).[3]

Clubbed wing function

Ornithologists speculate that the wings were used as weapons, in the manner of a club or flail,[3] similar to the adaptations found in some mantis shrimps (Stomatopoda: Gonodactyloidea) that possess a club-like distally inflated dactyl used to strike prey and other shrimps.[7] Among birds, this adaption seems unique.[3] In birds, adaptations of the wing that are advantageous in the context of fighting represent an example of contingency in which species find different solutions to the same problem as a result of random variations.[3][8]

Drawing of the wing bones of an American white ibis (left) and Jamaican ibis (right). Bones are scaled such that the humeri are the same size to enable easier comparison of morphological changes.

Distribution

Jamaican ibis is located in Jamaica
Long Mile Cave
Long Mile Cave
Swansea Cave
Swansea Cave
Red Hills Fissure
Red Hills Fissure
Jackson's Bay Cave
Jackson's Bay Cave
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Excavation sites

The Jamaican ibis was endemic to Jamaica. Bones have been excavated from several caves, including the Long Mile Cave,[1] the Swansea Cave,[6] the Jackson's Bay Cave[9] and the Red Hills Fissure.[3] Bones from Cuba claimed to be of this genus[10] were later identified as those of a limpkin. Jamaica and Cuba have never been linked, so it is improbable that a flightless species could reach a different island.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Olson, Storrs L; Steadman, David W (1977). "A new genus of flightless ibis (Threskiornithidae) and other fossil birds from cave deposits in Jamaica". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 90 (2): 447–457.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-953509-5
    .
  3. ^
    PMID 21208965
    .
  4. ^ Olson, Storrs L.; Wetmore, Alexander (1976). "Preliminary diagnoses of two extraordinary new genera of birds from Pleistocene deposits in Hawaiian Islands" (PDF). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 89: 247–258. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c Suárez, William (2001) "Deletion of the flightless ibis Xenicibis from the fossil record of Cuba" Archived 2011-10-01 at the Wayback Machine. Caribbean Journal of Science 37 (1–2): 109–110
  6. ^ a b Olson, Storrs L; Steadman, David W (1979). "The humerus of Xenicibis, the extinct flightless ibis of Jamaica". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 92: 23–27.
  7. S2CID 263603633
    .
  8. ISBN 0-393-02705-8
    .
  9. ^ McFarlane, D A; Lundberg, J; Fincham, A G (August 2002). "A late Quaternary paleoecological record from caves of southern Jamaica, West Indies" (PDF). Journal of Cave and Karst Studies. 64 (2): 117–125.
  10. ^ Arredondo, Oscar (1984). "Sinopsis de las aves halladas en depósitos fosilíferos pleisto-holocénicos de Cuba". Reporte de Investigación del Instituto de Zoología (in Spanish). 17: 1–3.
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