Revision of Plioperdix (Aves: Phasianidae) from the Plio-Pleistocene of Ukraine
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sion of Plioperdix (Aves: Phasianidae) from the Plio-Pleistocene of Ukraine N. V. Zelenkova, * and L. V. Gorobetsb aBorrisiak bNational
Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117647 Russia Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, 01030 Ukraine *e-mail: [email protected] Received November 12, 2019; revised November 18, 2019; accepted November 18, 2019
Abstract—Remains of small phasianid birds from several Pliocene and Pleistocene localities in the Northern Black Sea Region and Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, Czech Republic, and Hungary) are traditionally, based on similar proportions, assigned to Plioperdix pontica (Tugarinov, 1940). Our study of the bone material from Ukraine has shown that they in fact belong to several taxa of Galliformes. The remains from the localities of the Kuchurganian faunal assemblage (MN 14) can be attributed to Eurobambusicola turolicus Zelenkov, 2016, and supposedly to “Plioperdix” hungarica (Jánossy, 1991). Plioperdix pontica is characterized by morphological similarity to modern Coturnix and is represented mainly by bone remains from the Odessa catacombs locality (upper part of Zone MN 15) and several localities of Zone MN 16, including Rębielice Królewskie-2 (Poland). In the Middle Villafranchian localities (for example, Kotlovina; as well as Etulia-3, Moldova; Zone MN 17) remains of another unnamed form, which reliably differs from P. pontica in most skeletal elements, prevail. Previous descriptions and diagnoses of Plioperdix pontica, which were based on mixed bone materials of various taxa, are revised. Problems of the taxonomy of small Neogene– Pleistocene phasianids from the Northern Black Sea region and Eastern Europe are discussed. Keywords: Galliformes, taxonomy, Eastern Europe, Pliocene, early Pleistocene DOI: 10.1134/S0031030120050159
INTRODUCTION Phasianid birds (Family Phasianidae, Order Galliformes) are characteristic of the Late Cenozoic paleontological record of Europe. Despite relatively large numbers of bone remains, the evolution of phasianids during the Neogene and Quaternary remains poorly known, mainly due to the complex taxonomy of many described taxa (e.g., Göhlich and Mourer-Chauviré, 2005). Very small representatives of the family Phasianidae, which are known from several localities of the Northern Black Sea region, are no exception. The history of their study began with Tugarinov’s work (1940), who described two taxa from the lower Pliocene of the Odessa catacombs: a fossil partridge Ammoperdix ponticus Tugarinov, 1940 and a quail-like Pliogallus coturnoides Tugarinov, 1940. Later, Serebrovskii (1941) attributed a well-preserved coracoid from the same locality to P. coturnoides and indicated a possible synonymy between Pliogallus and the modern quail genus Coturnix. Kretzoi (1955) noted that the genus name Pliogallus Tugarinov, 1940 was preoccupied and proposed a new one—Plioperdix Kretzoi, 1955. The Catalogue of Fossil Birds (Brodkorb, 1964) included both taxa: Ammoperdix pon
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