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| Agapornis longipes Pavia, Braga, Delfino, Kgasi, Manegold, Steininger, Zipfel & Val, 2024 Artwork by Martina Cadin |
Abstract
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.
Keywords: Birds, Parrot, Osteology, Paleoecology, Cooper’s Cave, Kromdraai, Swartkrans
Systematic paleontology
Aves Linnaeus, 1758
Psittaciformes Wagler, 1830
Psittaculidae Vigors, 1825
Agapornithinae Salvin, 1882
Genus Agapornis Selby, 1836
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| Agapornis longipes nov. sp. from the Plio-Pleistocene of the Cradle of Humankind. A-C. Holotype, right tarsometatarsus KWPoc 70e from Kromdraai in dorsal (A), plantar (B), and proximal (C) views. D. Paratype, left tarsometatarsus SKX 18624 from Swartkrans in proximal view. E, F. Paratype, right humerus CD 16165b from Cooper’s Cave in caudal (E) and cranial (F) views. G. Paratype, left ulna KWPoc 244d from Kromdraai in ventral view. H. Paratype, left carpometacarpus KWPoc 167c from Kromdraai in ventral view. I. Paratype, left coracoid CD 16332 from Cooper’s Cave in dorsal view. J. Paratype, left humerus KW 7951 from Kromdraai in caudal view. K. Rostrum mandibulae CD 16381e from Cooper’s Cave in dorsal view. Abbreviation: tcd, tuberculum craniodistalis. Scale bar: 10 mm. |
Agapornis longipes nov. sp.
Derivation of the name: The new species shows the longest tarsometatarsus of all extant and extinct species of Agapornis in proportion to the humerus, as shown by the ratio of humerus to tarsometatarsus lengths.
Holotype: KWPoc 70e, complete right tarsometatarsus.
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| Life reconstruction of an air of Agapornis longipes nov. sp. feeding on the ground in the Early Pleistocene of the Cradle of Humankind (Gauteng, South Africa) during the dry season (Artwork by Martina Cadin). |
Marco Pavia, José Braga, Massimo Delfino, Lazarus Kgasi, Albrecht Manegold, Christine Steininger, Bernhard Zipfel and Aurore Val. 2024. A New Species of Lovebird (Aves, Psittaculidae, Agapornis) from the Plio-Pleistocene of the Cradle of Humankind (Gauteng, South Africa). Geobios. In Press. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.geobios.2024.05.006
