Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Crypturellus reai

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Family
  
Tinamidae

Phylum
  
Chordata

Rank
  
Species

Class
  
Aves

Subfamily
  
Tinaminae

Genus
  
Crypturellus

Order
  
Tinamou

Similar
  
Tinamou, Crypturellus, Tinaminae, Nothura

Crypturellus reai is a species of Miocene fossil bird in the Tinamou family. It was described in 2012 from material originally excavated by American palaeontologist Barnum Brown in 1899 in Patagonia. The specific epithet honours Amadeo M. Rea, an educator, mentor and friend of the describer.

History

The holotype left humerus is held in the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), which was a sponsor of the 1898-99 Patagonian expedition, led by John Bell Hatcher, on which Brown was the AMNH representative. The site of the discovery was a wash at Cañadón de las Vacas, south-eastern Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. It was found in Early-Middle Miocene (16.3–17.5 million-year-old) deposits of the fossiliferous Santa Cruz Formation. The site is considerably further south than the ranges of extant members of Crypturellus, which inhabit tropical or subtropical environments.

References

Crypturellus reai Wikipedia