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From the Eocene Green River Formation: New Anatomical Data from the Earliest Constrained Record of Stem Rollers Author(S): Daniel T

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From the Eocene Green River Formation: New Anatomical Data from the Earliest Constrained Record of Stem Rollers Author(S): Daniel T Primobucco mcgrewi (Aves: Coracii) from the Eocene Green River Formation: New Anatomical Data from the Earliest Constrained Record of Stem Rollers Author(s): Daniel T. Ksepka and Julia A. Clarke Source: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Jan., 2010), pp. 215-225 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20627163 . Accessed: 30/03/2014 13:08 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and Taylor & Francis, Ltd. are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 128.83.63.20 on Sun, 30 Mar 2014 13:08:38 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30(l):215-225, January 2010 ? 2010 by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology ARTICLE PRIMOBUCCO MCGREWI (AVES: CORACII) FROM THE EOCENE GREEN RIVER FORMATION: NEW ANATOMICAL DATA FROM THE EARLIEST CONSTRAINED RECORD OF STEM ROLLERS DANIEL T. KSEPKA*1'2 and JULIA A. CLARKE121 department ofMarine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, Campus Box 8208, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, U.S.A., [email protected]; department of Paleontology, North Carolina StateMuseum ofNatural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina 27601, U.S.A. ABSTRACT?The Eocene Green River Formation provides one of the richest records of fossil birds worldwide. As part of a reevaluation of this avifauna, we describe 12 new specimens of the stem roller Primobucco mcgrewi from the well-dated (51.66 ? 0.09 Ma) Fossil Butte Member (FBM) of the Green River Formation ofWyoming. FBM specimens represent most of avian diversity in the Green River Formation and include the oldest well-constrained record of the roller lineage (Coracii). These fossils provide new anatomical data, including the first observations on the palate, and broaden our understanding of the distribution, abundance, and taphonomy of P. mcgrewi. Using museum records and lithological comparisons, 14 of the 15 known P. mcgrewi specimens can now be assigned to specific quarries within Fossil Lake. The species is now known from five distinct localities representing both nearshore and mid-lake environments and accounts for >10% of the 148 FBM avian specimens reviewed in this study. Pectoral elements are disproportionately represented in the FBM P. mcgrewi specimens, and more than half of the sample exhibits broken elements. These new fossils and other key specimens from the Eocene of North America and Europe clarify our understanding of the evolution of the clade Coracii. Extant parts of this lineage (i.e., Coraciidae and Brachypteraciidae) have specialized ecologies and restricted Old World distributions, whereas stem representatives appear more generalized and were a major component of some North American avifaunas. INTRODUCTION Primobucco is the smallest-bodied and most widespread taxon of stem roller. It includes three species: Primobucco mcgrewi, Pri Rollers (Coracii) are represented by two extant groups: mobucco perneri, and Primobucco frugilegus (Brodkorb, 1970; Coraciidae (true rollers) and Brachypteraciidae (ground rollers). Houde and Olson, 1989; et al, The firstof these Coraciidae are hunters known for their acrobatic Mayr 2004). open-area to be Primobucco was from and are distributed species named, mcgrewi, reported display flights, presently throughoutAsia, Eocene Green River Formation Brodkorb and Australia et deposits by (1970). Europe, Africa, Madagascar, (Fry al., 1992; the was identified as The more terrestrial are Initially, poorly preserved holotype wing Fry, 2001). Brachypteraciidae primar a Houde and Olson leaf-litter and are restricted to puffbird (Bucconidae). (1989) subsequently ily foragers entirely Madagas considered the ofPrimobucco difficultto car All extant rollers are characterized holotype mcgrewi place (Langrand, 2001). by within but noted that a referred heads and colorful These birds are Aves, nearly complete spec large plumage. primarily imen indicated that the could have invertebrates and small vertebrates. Stem (USNM 336284) species predaceous, consuming affinities to of Houde and members of the roller reveal that the Brachypteraciidae (Atelornithidae lineage elongate wings et al. described this of Coraciidae and of are re Olson, 1989). Mayr (2004) formally spec elongate legs Brachypteraciidae imen and Primobucco as a stem roller. stricted to those extant clades and recognized mcgrewi (Mayr Mourer-Chauvire, These authors also described two new the of in extinct rollers have European species (Pri 2000). Hence, range ecologies may mobucco and Primobucco from the mid been distinct from thatobserved in true rollers and perneri frugilegus) early living ground dle Eocene Messel and a tarsometatar rollers. deposits assigned partial sus from the early Eocene of Conde-en-Brie, France, to Pri The roller stem lineage is known from an array of taxa in mobucconidae indet. Two specimens of Primobucco frugilegus cluding Eocoracias brachyptera, Geranopterus alatus, and Gera preserve seeds as gut contents (Mayr et al, 2004), and one spec nopterus milneedwardsi from the Eocene Messel and Quercy de imen of Eocoracias brachyptera preserves a single seed within posits ofEurope (Mayr andMourer-Chauvire, 2000) and Paraco the stomach area (Mayr and Mourer-Chauvire, 2000). Hence, racias occidentalis from theGreen River Formation (Clarke et al., basal rollers appear to have had a more omnivorous diet than 2009). Geranopterus bohemicus, from theMiocene of theCzech their extant relatives (Mayr et al, 2004). Among the 12 living Republic, may represent the youngest pre-Holocene record of species of true rollers, only Coracias garrulus (European Roller) Coracii, but is presently known from only a single partial tar is known to habitually consume fruits (grapes and figs; Fry, sometatarsus (Mayr and Mourer-Chauvire, 2000). 2001). Additionally, Coracias cyanogaster (Blue-bellied Roller) has been documented occasionally taking oil-palm nuts (Fry et al, 1992). Brachypteraciidae are entirely predaceous (Lan Corresponding author. ^Current address: Department of Geologi grand, 2001). cal Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas As part of a major ongoing reevaluation of the abundant and at 1 Texas U.S.A. Austin, University Station, C1100, Austin, 78713, exceptionally preserved avian specimens from the Fossil Butte [email protected] Member (FBM) of the Eocene Green River Formation, we 215 This content downloaded from 128.83.63.20 on Sun, 30 Mar 2014 13:08:38 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 216 JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY, VOL. 30, NO. 1, 2010 FIGURE 1. Map showing the extent of the Green River Lake Complex during the late early Eocene, modified from Grande and Buchheim (1994). Fossil Lake is enlarged at right, with localities of the Fossil Butte Member that have yielded Primobucco mcgrewi specimens labeled. Locality letters and the distribution of the three major lithotypes (i.e., KRLM, KPLM, and BM) correspond to the system of Grande and Buchheim (1994): A, locality A, Lewis Ranch site 1 (F-l); B, locality B, Lewis Ranch site 2 (F-l); E, locality E, Wyoming State Commercial site 1 (F-l); H, locality H, Thompson Ranch (F-2); K, locality K, Warfield Springs (F-2 equivalent deposits). identified 12 undescribed fossils assignable to Primobucco mc this species has previously come from a third,nearly complete grewi. The FBM deposits have yielded the majority of avian referred skeleton (USNM 336284; Houde and Olson, 1989;Mayr species described thus far from theGreen River Formation, and et al, 2004). Though most elements are intact inUSNM 336284, an many additional species remain undescribed. They represent preservation is poor in several key regions of the skeleton (e.g., essentially contemporaneous sample of nearshore and mid-lake pectoral girdle) and the skull only allows assessment in lateral new our deposits fromFossil Lake, the smallest of themajor Green River view. Thus, the specimens fill in important gaps in knowl lakes (Fig. 1;McGrew and Casilliano, 1975;Grande, 1984, 1994, edge of themorphology of Primobucco mcgrewi. 2001; Buchheim, 1994a, 1998; Grande and Buchheim, 1998). Ar guably, this is the best sample and closest approximation of a sin gle avifauna from theEocene ofNorth America. The vastmajor ityof avian fossils from theGreen River Formation are derived TAXONOMIC REMARKS from themiddle unit of the FBM. The bound of themid upper The taxonomic of "Primobucconidae" is This a history complex. dle unit is K-spar tufffor which Buchheim and Eugster (1998) reflectsan of the of extinct an evolving understanding relationships reported 40Ar/39Ar age of 50.2 ?1.9 Ma. More recently, Smith Eocene taxa, motivated by advances in avian phylogenetics and et al. refined the age of this tuffto 51.66 ? 0.09 Ma from (2008) the discovery of more complete fossils.Until recently, the taxon Gaussian-distributed ap multicrystal analyses (sanidine) yielding Primobucconidae
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