A new species of Lovebird (Aves, Psittaculidae, Agapornis) from the Plio-Pleistocene of the Cradle of Humankind (Gauteng, South Africa)
A new parrot species of the genus Agapornis (Aves, Psittaculidae), namely Agapornis longipes nov. sp., is described from the Plio-Pleistocene of Kromdraai, Cooper’s Cave, and Swartkrans in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. The new species is represented by all major wing bones (humerus, ulna, and carpometacarpus) and by the tarsometatarsus, together with a fragmentary mandible and coracoid. The size of the bones indicates a small species of Agapornis with an elongated tarsometatarsus, proportionately the longest of all known species of Agapornis. This lengthening of the legs might be related to feeding adaptation of the extinct species, as the longer legs may have favored this ground feeder in the high and dense grassland characteristic of the Cradle of Humankind during the Plio-Pleistocene transition and the Early Pleistocene.
Authors
- Albrecht Manegold (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0524-0439)
- Massimo Delfino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7836-7265)
- Bernhard Zipfel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4251-884X)
- Christine Steininger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9082-0672)
- Lazarus Kgasi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6525-4883)
- José Braga
- Aurore Val (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5350-186X)
- Marco Pavia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5188-4155)
Institutions
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR)
- Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (FR)
- University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
- University of Johannesburg (ZA)
- Iziko Museums of South Africa (ZA)
- State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe (DE)
- National Museum (ZA)
- Laboratoire Méditerranéen de Préhistoire Europe Afrique (FR)
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ES)
- University of Turin (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Geobios
- Published
- 2024-08-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geobios.2024.05.006
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.59
Funders
- PAST
- National Research Foundation
- Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India
- Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires Étrangères
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Università degli Studi di Torino
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle
- Sorbonne Université