Fossil Birds from the Oligocene Jebel Q^atrani Formation, Fayum Province, Egypt

Rasmussen, D. Tab, Storrs L. Olson, and Elwyn L. Simons. Fossil Birds from the Oligocene Jebel Qatrani Formation, Fayum Province, Egypt. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, number 62, 20 pages, 15 figures, 1986.—^Fossils from fluvial deposits of early Oligocene age in Egypt document the earliest known diverse avifauna from Africa, comprising at least 13 families and 18 species. Included are the oldest fossil records of the Musophagidae (turacos), Pandionidae (ospreys), Jacanidae (jacanas), and Balaenicipitidae (shoebilled storks). Other families represented are the Accipitridae (hawks and eagles), Rallidae (rails), Gruidae (cranes), Phoenicopteridae (flamingos), Ardeidae (herons), Ciconiidae (storks), and Phalacrocoracidae (cormorants). A highly distinctive rostrum is described as a new family, Xenerodiopidae, probably most closely related to herons. A humerus lacking the distal end is tentatively referred to the same family. Two new genera and three species of large to very large jacanas are described from the distal ends of tarsometatarsi. This Oligocene avifauna resembles that of modern tropical African assemblages. The habitat preferences ofthe constituent species of birds indicate a tropical, swampy, vegetation-choked, fresh-water environment at the time of deposition. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION DATE is handstamped in a limited number of initial copies and is recorded in the Institution's annual report, Smittisonian Year. SERIES COVER DESIGN: The trilobite Phacops rana Green. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Rasmussen, D. Tab Fossil birds from the Oligocene Jebel Qatrani Formation, Fayum Province, Egypt (Smithsonian contributions to paleobiology ; no. 62) Bibliography : p. SupL of Docs, no.: SI 1.30:62 1. Birds, Fossil. 2. Paleontology—Oligocene. Paleontology—^Egypt—Fayum (Province). I. Olson, Storrs L. II. Simons, Elwyn L. III. Title. IV. Series QE701.S56 no. 62 560 s 87-9782 [QE8711 [568'.0962'2