Paracrax
| Paracrax | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Cariamiformes (?) |
| Family: | †Bathornithidae (?) |
| Genus: | †Paracrax Pierce Brodkorb 1964 |
| Type species | |
| †Paracrax antiqua Brodkorb 1964
| |
| Species | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Paracrax ("near
carnivores
much like their South American cousins, some species attaining massive sizes.
Discovery
Paracrax antiqua is the genus
Weld County, Colorado, in 1871 by Othniel Charles Marsh, which identified it as a sort of turkey.[4] It was posteriorly referred to Cracidae by Pierce Brodkorb,[5] before its identity as a bathornithid came to light.[6] Material previously identified as a cormorant, "Phalacrocorax/Oligocrocorax" mediterraneus, was posteriorly identified as P. antiqua remains.[6]
Since then, two more species have been identified: P. wetmorei and P. gigantea. These were more closely related to each other than to P. antiqua.[6]
Age and environment
Most specimens have been found on the
oreodonts and hyaenodonts, all co-existing with several flightless bathornithids. Bathornis, a possible close relative of Paracrax, appears to have favoured wetter ecosystems, while Paracrax occurs in drier environments.[3]
Appearance
Paracrax is known from a variety of materials, such as
phorusrhacids, with proportionally short wings and a large, deep bill.[6]
The keel is rather proportionally
metacarpals, though P. wetmorei might have still been capable of limited flight.[7]
Paracrax gigantea in particular is a very large bird, reaching estimated heights of over 2 m (6 ft 7 in), making it among the largest of bathornithids and among the tallest animals in its environment.[3][6]
Lifestyle
Like most Cariamiformes, including other bathornithids, Paracrax was likely a terrestrial carnivore. In terms of ecology, it would probably have been similar to its more famous relatives, the
phorusrhacid terror birds, being a large, flightless killer and using its large axe-like beak to subdue and kill its prey. It is a prime example of a large flightless predatory bird co-existing with large predatory mammals, such as the conspecific Hyaenodon, Dinictis, and Archaeotherium with which it probably shared an apex-predator role in its environment.[3][6]
References
- ^ Mayr, G., & Noriega, J. I. A well-preserved partial skeleton of the poorly known early Miocene seriema Noriegavis santacrucensis (Aves, Cariamidae).
- ^ Gerald Mayr (2016). "Osteology and phylogenetic affinities of the middle Eocene North American Bathornis grallator—one of the best represented, albeit least known Paleogene cariamiform birds (seriemas and allies)". Journal of Paleontology 90 (2): 357–374. doi:10.1017/jpa.2016.45.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-253-01608-9.
- ^ Marsh 1871
- ^ Brodkorb 1964
- ^ hdl:2246/2536.
- ^ Joel Cracraft, Systematics and evolution of the Gruiformes (Class Aves). 2, Additional comments on the Bathornithidae, with descriptions of new species. American Museum Novitates ; no. 2449