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A femur of the Late Cretaceous giant bird Gargantuavis from Cruzy (southern France) and its systematic implications
 
Eric Buffetaut and Delphine Angst
Keywords: Aves; femur; France; Gargantuavis; Late Cretaceous

doi: 10.18563/pv.42.1.e3
 
  Abstract


    A large avian femur recently discovered at the Late Cretaceous Montplo-Nord locality at Cruzy (Hérault, southern France) is referred to the giant bird Gargantuavis philoinos. The estimated mass of the bird is 57 kg, within the range of living cassowaries. The specimen provides new evidence about the anatomy of G. philoinos, notably showing that the distal end of the femur was similar to that of modern birds in having a condylus lateralis subdivided into two semicondyles. A new diagnosis of Gargantuavis philoinos is provided and the taxon is placed in a new family of basal ornithurines.
      


  Article infos

Published in Vol 42-1 (2019)

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A reassessment of the giant birds Liornis floweri Ameghino, 1895 and Callornis giganteus Ameghino, 1895, from the Santacrucian (late Early Miocene) of Argentina.
Eric Buffetaut
Keywords: Argentina; Aves; Callornis; Liornis; Miocene

doi: 10.18563/pv.40.2.e3
 
  Abstract

    The status of the giant bird taxa Liornis floweri and Callornis giganteus from the Santa Cruz Formation (late Early Miocene) of Patagonia, first described by Ameghino (1895) is reassessed on the basis of a re-examination of the type material at the Natural History Museum, London. Liornis floweri, which lacks a Pons supratendineus on the tibiotarsus and has an unbifurcated Canalis interosseus distalis on the tarsometatarsus, is clearly a brontornithid and is considered as a junior synonym of Brontornis burmeisteri. Ameghino’s replacement of Callornis by Eucallornis is unjustified. Callornis giganteus is a chimera based on a phorusrhacid tarsometatarsus (probably belonging to Phorusrhacos longissimus) and a brontornithid tibiotarsus. The latter can be considered as the lectotype of Callornis giganteus, which may represent a small morph of Brontornis burmeisteri or a distinct taxon. It is referred to here as Brontornithidae indet. The tarsometatarsus described by Dolgopol de Saez (1927a,b) as Liornis minor and considered by her as a gracile brontornithid apparently has a bifurcated Canalis interosseus distalis and should therefore be placed among the Phorusrhacidae. 


  Article infos

Published in Vol.40-2 (2016)

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A classic in the making : VERTEBRATE PALAEONTOLOGY (4th edition). By Michael J. Benton.
Eric Buffetaut
Keywords: Book review; Vertebrate Palaeontology

doi: 10.18563/pv.40.1.e1
 
  Abstract

    When the first edition of Mike Benton’s Vertebrate Palaeontology came out in 1990, sauropods still dragged their tails on the ground, the closest relatives of whales were mesonychids, and Mesozoic birds consisted essentially of Archaeopteryx, Ichthyornis and Hesperornis. Twenty-five years later, the book, now in its fourth edition, is a third longer, in a larger format and sports fine colour plates – in addition to a companion website. 


  Article infos

Published in Vol.40-1 (2016)

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New remains of the giant bird Gargantuavis philoinos from the Late Cretaceous of Provence (south-eastern France)
Eric Buffetaut, Delphine Angst, Patrick Mechin and Annie Mechin-Salessy
Keywords: Aves; Gargantuavis; Late Cretaceous; Pelvis; South-eastern France

doi: 10.18563/pv.39.2.e3
 
  Abstract


    Two incomplete pelves of the giant bird Gargantuavis philoinos are described from Late Cretaceous deposits at Fox-Amphoux (Var, south-eastern France). They consist of synsacra with attached parts of the ilia. One of them has undergone considerable dorsoventral compression, which makes it very similar in appearance to the holotype pelvis of Gargantuavis philoinos from Campagne-sur-Aude (Aude, southern France). The second specimen has suffered some lateral distortion but is uncrushed dorsoventrally. Because of this, its avians characters (including an arched synsacrum and widespread pneumatisation) are especially clear. These new specimens confirm the avian nature of Gargantuavis and reveal new details about its pelvic anatomy, but provide little new evidence about its systematic position within Aves. The geographical distribution and general rarity of Gargantuavis are discussed.
      


  Article infos

Published in Vol.39-2 (2015)

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Les crocodiliens paléogenes du Tilemsi (Mali): un aperçu systématique
Eric Buffetaut
Keywords: Crocodilians; Dyrosoridae; Eocene; Mali; Palaeocene
 
  Abstract

    Abundant crocodilian fossil remains have been collected, mainly by R. Lavocat. from several levels of the
    Palaeogene of the Tilemsi valley (eastern Mali). Several dyrosaurids occur in the Palaeocene (Montian ?) : Phosphatosaurus sp., Hyposaurus bequaerti (Dollo). H. wilsoni (Swinton). H. nopesai (Swinton), Rhabdognathus rarus Swinton, R. compressus n. sp. ln the lower Eocene has been found a dyrosaurid which cannot be accurutely determined.In the middle Eocene were found a dyrosaurid, Tilemsisuchus lavocati n. g., n. sp., and an indeterminate eusuchian. 


  Article infos

Published in Vol. 9, Ext (1980)

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La poche à phosphate de Ste-Néboule (Lot) et sa faune de vertébres du Ludien supérieur. 4- Crocodiliens
Eric Buffetaut
Keywords: Eocene; Quercy phosphorites
 
  Abstract

    Crocodilians are represented in the Upper Eocene of Sainte·Néboule (Lot) by an isolated parietal and a dorsal scute, bath from young individuals. They are refferred to Diplocynodon sp. Predators (mammals and birds) are probably responsible for the occurrence of remains of small crocodilians (belonging to the genera Allognathosuchus and Diplocynodon) in the phosphorltes of Quercy. 


  Article infos

Published in Vol. 08, Fasc. 2-4 (1978)

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 La poche à phosphate de Ste-Néboule (Lot) et sa faune de vertébres du Ludien Supérieur. Introduction
Bernard Gèze, Jean-Claude Rage, Colette Vergnaud-Grazzini, France de Broin, Eric Buffetaut, Cécile Mourer-Chauviré, Jean-Yves Crochet, Bernard Sigé, Jean Sudre, Jean-Albert Remy, Brigitte Lange-Badré, Louis de Bonis, Jean-Louis Hartenberger and Monique Vianey-Liaud
Keywords: Eocene; Quercy phosphorites
 
  Abstract

    Le Quercy est aujourd 'hui un vaste plateau calcaire, parcouru par un réseau karstique actif, profondément
    entaillé par des vallées aux falaises abruptes, comme celles du Lot ou du Célé. Sur un sol peu épais domine la forêt de chênes, accompagnés de cornouillers, érables, genévriers. La faune est pauvre, peu diverse, et les nombreux chasseurs se satisfont de gibier d'élevage ...

    Il y a trente cinq millions d'années environ, le paysage était bien différent. La période de l'Eocène supérieur, qui s'achevait, avait été chaude et humide, si l'on se réfère à la fois aux paléotempératures (calculées à partir de sédiments marins extra·européens) et aux restes fossilisés de végétaux typiquement tropicaux. 


  View editorial

Published in Vol. 08, Fasc. 2-4 (1978)

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