New anhingid (Aves, Suliformes) from the middle Miocene of Río Negro province, Patagonia, Argentina

DIEDERLE, JUAN; AGNOLIN, FEDERICO

Historical Biology

Taylor and Francis

Año: 2017

During the Miocene in South America, the family Anhingidae constitutes one of the most conspicuousfaunal elements. However, the anhingid record from Patagonia is still sparse. The aim of the presentcontribution is to describe a new species of Macranhinga coming from Colloncuran levels (early middleMiocene) in Río Negro province, north-central Patagonia (Argentina). The new species is represented by anincomplete proximal end of a tarsometatarsus, distal end of a tibiotarsus, and distal end of a humerus. Thephylogenetic relationships of the new species within Macranhinga remains unresolved. South AmericanNeogene anhingids share a number of features that suggest they may belong to a monophyletic cladewithin this family. Anhingid records from the Miocene of Patagonia indicate that the diversity of this familywas far more diverse (at least 4 different species) than currently understood, and was possible comparableto that shown by Miocene beds of Mesopotamian in Argentina and Acre in Brazil.