Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Small Ducks (Aves: Anatidae) from the Early–Middle Miocene of Eurasia. 1. A revision of Anas velox Milne-Edwards, 1868 and Anas soporata Kurochkin, 1976

  • Published:
Paleontological Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A revision of small ducks (the size of the modern teal Anas crecca or smaller) from the middle Miocene of France (Sansan locality) and Mongolia (Sharga locality) clarified the taxonomic status and systematic position of the well-known species Anas velox Milne-Edwards, 1868 and Anas soporata Kurochkin, 1976. It is shown that three small members of the family Anatidae are present in the fauna of the Sansan locality: Anas velox is a diving duck, partly similar to modern Histrionicus, but smaller–here this species is transferred to the fossil genus Protomelanitta Zelenkov, 2011 (basal Mergini). A somewhat smaller taxon from Sansan belongs to the ecological group of dabbling ducks, and is identified as Anas soporata, a species that was previously described from Mongolia and here transferred to the genus Mioquerquedula Zelenkov et Kurochkin, 2012. In addition, yet another very small duck of unclear systematic position is present in the fauna of Sansan. New materials on Mioquerquedula soporata comb. nov. and M. minutissima Zelenkov et Kurochkin, 2012 are also described from the middle Miocene of Mongolia.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Baumel, J.J., King, A.S. and Breazile, J.E., et al., Handbook of Avian Anatomy: Nomina Anatomica Avium, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Nuttall Ornithol. Club, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Brodkorb, P., Birds from the Pliocene of Juntura, Oregon, Quart. J. Florida Acad. Sci., 1961, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 169–184.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Brodkorb, P., Catalogue of fossil birds: Part 2 (Anseriformes through Galliformes), Bull. Florida St. Mus. Biol. Sci., 1964, vol. 8, pp. 195–335.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Cheneval, J., Les Anatidae (Aves, Anseriformes) du gisement aquitanien de Saint-Gérand-le-Puy (Allier, France), Actes Symp. Paléontol. Georges Cuvier, Cheneval, J., Ed., Montbelliard: Musée de Chateau, 1983, pp. 85–98.

  5. Cheneval, J., Les Anatidae (Aves, Anseriformes) du Miocène de France. Révision systématique et évolution, Docum. Lab. Géol. Lyon., 1987, vol. 99, pp. 137–156.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Cheneval, J., L’avifaune de Sansan, Mém. Mus. Nat. Hist. Natur., 2000, vol. 138, pp. 321–388.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Fraas, O., Die Fauna von Steinheim. Mit Rücksicht auf die miocenen Säugethier- und Vogelreste des Steinheimer Beckens, Jg. Ver. Vaterländ. Nat. Württemberg, 1870, vol. 26, pp. 145–306.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Howard, H., Fossil Anseriformes, Waterfowl of the World, Delacour, J., Ed., L.: Country Life, 1964, pp. 233–326.

  9. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, Vol. 1: Non-Passerines, Dickinson, E.C. and Remsen, J.V. Jr., Eds., Eastbourne, U.K.: Aves Press, 2013.

  10. Kurochkin, E.N., New data on Pliocene birds in Western Mongolia, in Tr. Sovm. Sov.-Mongol. N.-I. Geol. Eksped. (Trans. Joint. Soviet-Mongolian Sci.-Res. Geol. Exped.), 1976, no. 3, pp. 51–67.

  11. Kurochkin, E.N., Ptitsy Tsentralnoi Azii v Pliotsene (Birds of Central Asia in the Pliocene), in Tr. Sovm. Sov.-Mongol. Paleont. Eksped. (Trans. Joint. Soviet-Mongolian Paleontol. Exped.), no. 26, Moscow: Nauka, 1985.

  12. Lambrecht, K., Handbuch der Palaeornithologie, Berlin: Borntraeger, 1933.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Livezey, B.C. and Martin, L.D., The systematic position of the Miocene anatid Anas [?] blanchardi Milne-Edwards, J. Vertebr. Paleontol., 1988, vol. 8, pp. 196–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Lydekker, R., Catalogue of the Fossil Birds in the British Museum (Natural History), London: Taylor and Francis, 1891.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Mayr, G., Phylogenetic affinities and morphology of the late Eocene anseriform bird Romainvillia stehlini Lebedinsky, 1927, N. Jb. Geol. Paläontol. Abh., 2008, vol. 248, no. 3, pp. 36–380.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Mayr, G., Avian Evolution. The Fossil Record of Birds and Its Paleobiological Significance, Chichester: John Wiley, 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Mayr, G. and Smith, T., First Old World record of the poorly known, swan-sized anseriform bird Paranyroca from the late Oligocene/early Miocene of France, N. Jb. Geol. Paläontol. Abh., 2017, vol. 286, no. 3, pp. 349–354.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Milne-Edwards, A., Recherches Anatomiques et Paléontologiques pour Servir à l’Histoire des Oiseaux Fossiles de la France, P.: G. Masson, 1867–1871.

  19. Mlíkovský, J., Cenozoic Birds of the World. Pt 1: Europe, Praha: Ninox Press, 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Mlikovský, J. and Švec, P., Review of the Tertiary waterfowl (Aves: Anseridae) of Asia, Věstn. Českoslov. Spol, Zool., 1986, vol. 50, pp. 249–272.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Mourer-Chauviré, C., Berthet, D. and Hugueney, M., The late Oligocene birds of the Créchy quarry (Allier, France), with a description of two new genera (Aves: Pelecaniformes: Phalacrocoracidae, and Anseriformes: Anseranatidae), Senckenb. Leth., 2004, vol. 84, pp. 303–315.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Olson, S.L., The fossil record of birds, in Avian Biology. Vol. 8, Farmer, D.S., Ed., N.Y.: Acad. Press, 1985, pp. 79–238.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Olson, S.L. and Rasmussen, P.C., Miocene and Pliocene birds from the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina, Smith. Contrib. Paleobiol., 2001, no. 90, pp. 233–365.

  24. Paris, P., Oiseaux fossiles de France, Rev. Fr. Ornithol., 1912, vol. 37, pp. 283–298.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Pavia, M., The Anatidae and Scolopacidae (Aves: Anseriformes, Charadriiformes) from the late Neogene of Gargano, Italy, Geobios, 2013, vol. 46, pp. 43–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Schlosser, M., Neue Funde fossiler Säugetiere in der Eichstätter Gegend, Abh. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. Math. Naturwiss. Kl., 1916, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 1–78.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Stidham, T.A. and Zelenkov, N.V., North American–Asian aquatic bird dispersal in the Miocene: evidence from a new species of dabbling duck (Anseriformes: Anatidae) from North America (Nevada) with affinities to Mongolian taxa, Alcheringa, 2017, vol. 41, pp. 222–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Sun, Z., Pan, T. and Hu, C., et al., Rapid and recent diversification patterns in Anseriformes birds: Inferred from molecular phylogeny and diversification analyses, PLoS One, 2017, vol. 12, no. 9, e0184529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Švec, P., Lower Miocene birds from Dolnice (Cheb basin), western Bohemia. Pt II, Čas. Miner. Geol., 1981, vol. 26, pp. 45–56.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Woelfle, E., Vergleichend Morphologische Untersuchungen an Einzelknochen des Postkranialen Skelettes in Mitteleuropa Vorkommender Enten, Halbgänse und Säger. Diss. Dokt., Univ. München, 1967.

  31. Worthy, T.H., Descriptions and phylogenetic relationships of two new genera and four new species of Oligo-Miocene waterfowl (Aves: Anatidae) from Australia, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 2009, vol. 156, no. 2, pp. 411–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Worthy, T.H., Scofield, R.P. and Salisbury, S.W., et al. A new species of Manuherikia (Aves: Anatidae) provides evidence of faunal turnover in the St Bathans Fauna, New Zealand, Geobios, 2022, vol. 70, pp. 87–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Worthy, T.H., Tennyson, A.J.D. and Jones, C., et al., Miocene waterfowl and other birds from central Otago, New Zealand, J. Syst. Palaeontol., 2007, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Zelenkov, N.V., Diving ducks from the Middle Miocene of Western Mongolia, Paleontol. J., 2011, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 191–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Zelenkov, N.V., A new duck from the middle Miocene of Mongolia, with comments on Miocene evolution of ducks, Paleontol. J., 2012, vol. 46, no. 5, pp. 520–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Zelenkov, N.V., The history of ducks of Eurasia in the Miocene, Casarca, 2013, no. 16, pp. 13–36.

  37. Zelenkov, N.V., The nomenclature of the skeleton of birds, Iskopaemye pozvonochnye Rossii i sopredel’nyh stran. Iskopaemye reptilii i ptitsy. Chast’ 3 (Fossil Vertebrates of Russia and Adjacent Countries. Fossil Reptiles and Birds. Part 3), Kurochkin, E.N., Lopatin, A.V. and Zelenkov, N.V., Eds., Moscow: GEOS, 2015, pp. 61–83.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Zelenkov, N.V., Evolution of bird communities in the Neogene of Central Asia, with a review of the fossil record of the Neogene Asian birds, Paleontol. J., 2016, vol. 50, no. 12, pp. 1421–1433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Zelenkov, N.V., The revised avian fauna of Rudabànya (Hungary, Late Miocene), in Paleontología y Evolución de las Aves, Acosta Hospitaleche, C., Zelenkov, N.V., et al., Eds., Buenos-Aires: Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia,” 2017, pp. 253–266.

  40. Zelenkov, N.V., The Earliest Asian duck (Anseriformes: Romainvillia) and the origin of Anatidae, Dokl. Biol. Sci., 2018, vol. 483, no. 1, pp. 225–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Zelenkov, N.V., A swan-sized anseriform bird from the late Paleocene of Mongolia, J. Vertebr. Paleontol., 2019, vol. 38: e1531879.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Zelenkov, N.V., Cenozoic evolution of Eurasian anatids (Aves: Anatidae s. l.), Biol. Bull. Rev., 2020, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 417–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Zelenkov, N.V., Variability of the postcranial skeleton of dabbling ducks (Anas s.l.): Finding application nodes of natural selection, in Mater. IV Mezhd. Konf. “Sovremennye problemy biologicheskoi evolyutsii” (Proc. 4th Int. Conf. “Modern Problems of Biological Evolution”), Moscow: GDM, 2022, pp. 308–310.

  44. Zelenkov, N.V. and Kurochkin, E.N., Class Aves, in Iskopaemye pozvonochnye Rossii i sopredel’nyh stran. Iskopaemye reptilii i ptitsy. Chast’ 2 (Fossil Vertebrates of Russia and Neighbouring Countries. Fossil Reptiles and Bird. Part 2), Kurochkin, E.N., Lopatin, A.V. and Zelenkov, N.V., Eds., Moscow: GEOS, 2015, pp. 86–290.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Zelenkov, N.V. and Stidham, T.A., Possible filter-feeding in the extinct Presbyornis and the evolution of Anseriformes (Aves), Zool. Zh., 2018, vol. 97, pp. 943–956.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Zelenkov, N.V., Stidham, T.A. and Martynovich, N.V., et al., The middle Miocene duck Chenoanas (Aves, Anatidae): new species, phylogeny and geographical range, Pap. Palaeontol., 2018, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 309–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author is grateful to R. Allain for providing access to the collection of fossil birds at the National Museum of Natural History (Paris; France; MNHN), D. Seegis (Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History, Germany; SMNS) and N.V. Volkova (Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; PIN RAS) for providing photographs of fossil and extant birds. I am also extremely grateful to A.B. Savinetsky, A.V. Panteleyev, Z. Boev and N.V. Martynovich for reviewing all articles in this series.

Funding

The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant no. 18-74-10081, https://rscf.ru/project/18-74-10081.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Borissiak Paleontological institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117647, Moscow, Russia

    N. V. Zelenkov

Authors
  1. N. V. Zelenkov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. V. Zelenkov.

Ethics declarations

The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Translated by D. Ponomarenko

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zelenkov, N.V. Small Ducks (Aves: Anatidae) from the Early–Middle Miocene of Eurasia. 1. A revision of Anas velox Milne-Edwards, 1868 and Anas soporata Kurochkin, 1976. Paleontol. J. 57, 452–462 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030123040159

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030123040159

Keywords:

Search

Navigation