Palaeontology Group, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, GPO 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
Palaeontology Group, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, GPO 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia 2Earth Sciences Section, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide 5000, Australia.
Zootaxa. 2022 Jul 20;5168(1):1-23. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5168.1.1.
The Australian Pleistocene fossil record of the Accipitridae (hawks, eagles and Old World vultures) is sparse and poorly known. Only two extinct confirmed accipitrid species have been described for this time period; both have received little investigation since their description. One is Taphaetus lacertosus de Vis, 1905, described from a distal humerus and a quadrate from north-eastern South Australia. While this species was verified as an accipitrid in subsequent studies, its more precise taxonomic affinities have remained conjectural. In this study, a new analysis incorporating newly referred material and phylogenetic analyses using a wide range of accipitriforms reveals that the lectotype humerus of T. lacertosus is an Old World vulture in the subfamily Aegypiinae. The associated quadrate, one of two original syntypes from which de Vis named this species, is of an indeterminate species of ardeid. We erect the novel genus Cryptogyps, to accommodate the species lacertosus, as it cannot be placed in Taphaetus de Vis, 1891, because the type species of this genus, Uroaetus brachialis de Vis, 1889, was transferred back to the genus Uroaetus, a synonym of Aquila Brisson, by de Vis in 1905. Further, U. brachialis is now considered a synonym of Aquila audax (Latham, 1801). Moreover, Taphaetus de Vis, 1891 is a senior homonym of Taphaetus de Vis, 1905, type species Taphaetus lacertosus de Vis, 1905, making the 1905 version of the genus unavailable. Newly referred fossils from Wellington Caves (NSW) and the Nullarbor Plains (WA) reveal this taxon had a wide geographical range across Pleistocene Australia. The referred tarsometatarsus lacks hyper-developed trochleae, indicating that Cryptogyps lacertosus (de Vis, 1905) comb. nov., was probably a scavenger like other aegypiines. Identification of Cryptogyps lacertosus as an aegypiine significantly expands the palaeogeographical range of the Old World vultures, hitherto unknown in Australia. The avian guild of large, obligate scavenging birds of prey, is currently absent in the modern Australian biota, but its former presence is not surprising given the megafauna-rich communities of the Pleistocene.
澳大利亚更新世的鹰科（鹰、雕和旧大陆秃鹫）化石记录很少，也不太为人所知。这个时期只描述了两种已灭绝的确认的鹰科物种；自描述以来，这两种物种都很少被研究。其中一种是 Taphaetus lacertosus de Vis，1905 年，描述于来自澳大利亚东北部的一个远端肱骨和一个方骨。虽然在随后的研究中证实了这种物种是鹰科的一员，但它更确切的分类关系仍然是推测性的。在这项研究中，新的分析包括新的参考材料和使用广泛的鹰形目鸟类的系统发育分析，揭示了 T. lacertosus 的模式肱骨是一种在 Aegypiinae 亚科中的旧大陆秃鹫。关联的方骨，de Vis 命名该物种的两个原始正型之一，是一种未定的鹳形目物种。我们建立了新的属 Cryptogyps，以容纳 lacertosus 种，因为它不能归入 Taphaetus de Vis，1891，因为这个属的模式种 Uroaetus brachialis de Vis，1889，于 1905 年被 de Vis 归回到 Aquila Brisson 的同义词中。此外，U. brachialis 现在被认为是 Aquila audax (Latham, 1801) 的同义词。此外，Taphaetus de Vis，1891 是 Taphaetus de Vis，1905 的高级同形异义词，模式种 Taphaetus lacertosus de Vis，1905，使得 1905 年的属名不可用。来自惠灵顿洞穴（新南威尔士州）和纳拉伯平原（西澳大利亚州）的新化石揭示了这个分类单元在更新世澳大利亚有广泛的地理分布。参考的跗跖骨缺少过度发育的滑车，表明 Cryptogyps lacertosus（de Vis，1905）组合。新属，可能是一种像其他 Aegypiinae 一样的食腐动物。将 Cryptogyps lacertosus 鉴定为 Aegypiinae 显著扩大了旧大陆秃鹫的古地理分布范围，在澳大利亚以前是未知的。大型、专性食腐的猛禽鸟类的鸟类群体，目前在现代澳大利亚生物群中不存在，但考虑到更新世丰富的巨型动物群，其以前的存在并不奇怪。
