Fossil bird remains from tertiary deposits in the United States
✍ Scribed by Alexander Wetmore
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1940
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 658 KB
- Volume
- 66
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0362-2525
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
In some fragiiiciitary fossil vertebrate remains forwarded to the U. S. National Museum by Nr. Carl J. Bleifus of Hollistcr, California, there is included part of the ulna of a bird that is of iniportaiice as it is from a loon, a family scldoiri i~q3resentcd in fossil deposits. While the ulna in birds ordiiiai*ily does not carry speeific characters of diagnostic value the present spociiiieii is an exception in that it is not only cviclently a loon but also it d i f e r s pertiiiently from all living mcriibers of that family. It seems proper therefore to dcsignate it with a specific n a ~i i e . ~ Cauia couwiwnu sp. 11017.
Cliaractcrs. Ulria (figs. 1 to 4) similar to that of modern Uavia stellata (Pontoppidan *), but with tubercle for attach-ii~eiit of anterior ligament shorter and broader ; intermecliate in size between modern Gavia stellata and Gavia iiiimer. Descriptlow. Type, proximal two-thirds of left ulna, U. S. Sational Museum No. 16,160, from Etchegoin beds of Lowcr Pliocene, associated with Tamiosoina and Ralanus, collected by Carl J . Rleifus in a sandpit in Sweetwater Canyon, about 5+ iiiilcs cast of King City, in the north central part of S. 5, Dramiiigs illustretiiig this report have been made by Sydnry Prentice, tl student xith Professor McClung, uiider Dr. S. W. Williston, at the University of Eansas.