Grey Partridges (Phasianidae: Genera Perdix and Enkuria gen. nov.) from the Early Pleistocene of Crimea, and Notes on the Evolution of the Genus Perdix

The paper describes remains of the fossil grey partridges from the Lower Pleistocene (1.8–1.5 MA) deposits of the Taurida Cave in central Crimea. A smaller grey partridge is referred to the fossil species Perdix jurcsaki Kretzoi, 1962. Yet another phasianid bird from the cave, partly similar to modern Perdix but larger, is described as Enkuria voinstvenskyi gen. et sp. nov. The spatiotemporal stability of the Early-Middle Pleistocene European grey partridges’ morphotype allows synonymization of the fossil species P. jurcsaki and P. palaeoperdix Mourer-Chauvire, 1975. Earlier fossil finds of the genus Perdix from the Upper Pliocene – Lower Pleistocene of Eastern Europe and Asia are revised. Perdix margaritae Kurochkin, 1985 from the Upper Pliocene of Mongolia and Transbaikalia is considered a junior synonym of Lophura inferna Kurochkin 1985. The oldest confirmed find of P. jurcsaki comes from the lower Gelasian (~2.4 MA) of the Northern Black Sea region (locality Kryzhanovka-2; Ukraine). A dispersal of grey partridges to the west of Europe in the second half of the Early Pleistocene is shown. The discovery of the genus Enkuria confirms the existence of the fossil diversity of Perdicini s. s. in the Plio-Pleistocene of Northern Eurasia. Phasianus etuliensis Bocheński et Kurochkin, 1987 from the early Pliocene of Moldova is here transferred to this genus. In addition, the validity of the fossil Early Pleistocene phasianids Francolinus subfrancolinus Jánossy, 1976 and Alectoris baryosefi Tchernov, 1980 is confirmed.