Title
New Miocene Sulid Birds from Peru and Considerations on their Neogene Fossil Record in the Eastern Pacific Ocean
Date Issued
01 June 2016
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Polska Akademia Nauk
Abstract
Boobies and gannets (family Sulidae) are the most specialized plunge divers among seabirds. Their fossil record along the Pacific coast of South America extends to the early Middle Miocene. Here we describe three new species of sulids: Sula brandi sp. nov., Sula figueroae sp. nov., and Ramphastosula aguirrei sp. nov., from the early Late Miocene of the Pisco Formation (Peru). Two of them are relatives of the living genus Sula, which represents medium and large-sized boobies. A new species of the extinct genus Ramphastosula is also described, adding to the discussion of possible alternative feeding strategies among sulids. The fossil record suggests that sympatric sulids exhibit different body sizes at least since the Oligocene epoch, a strategy related with resource partitioning. Furthermore, we find current analysis and knowledge of the fossil record unsuitable to evaluate properly seabird diversity changes through time.
Start page
417
End page
427
Volume
61
Issue
2
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
ZoologÃa, OrnitologÃa, EntomologÃa, ciencias biológicas del comportamiento
PaleontologÃa
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84973342037
Source
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
ISSN of the container
05677920
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción CientÃfica
Scopus