[PaleoOrnithology • 2023] A Marine Bird (Aves: Sulidae) from the Langhian (middle Miocene) of Penedo Beach (Setúbal Peninsula—SW Portugal) and Its Paleoenvironmental Context

reconstitution of the individual Morus sp. to which the coracoid CPGP.13.96.2 may have belonged

in Figueiredo, Carvalho, Cachão & Fonseca, 2023. 

DOI: 10.1007/s41513-022-00203-5 

art—Alexandre Fonseca facebook.com/dinosaurcoveproject

Abstract

The fossil remains of birds from the Miocene of Portugal are scarce, encompassing a total of twelve specimens, from nine paleontological outcrops located in Leiria (central Portugal), southern sector of Setúbal Peninsula and along the lower Tagus Basin. This study focuses on a new specimen found in the Praia do Penedo Norte (Sesimbra) coastal cliff corresponding to a coracoid bone, attributed to Morus sp., a sulid bird, biostratigraphically framed by calcareous nannofossils within the middle Miocene (Langhian).

Keywords: Langhian, Morus, Marine environment, Sesimbra

Possible reconstitution of the individual Morus sp. to which the coracoid CPGP.13.96.2 may have belonged (art—Alexandre Fonseca)

Comparison of the gnawing traces observed in LAP.2017.1 [the extant northern gannet Morus bassanus] (left) and in the CPGP.13.96.2 (right)

AVES Linnaeus 1758

SULIFORMES Sharpe 1891

SULIDAE Reichenbach 1849

MORUS Vieillot 1816

MORUS SP. Olson and Warheit 1988

Discussion and conclusion: 

The broken part (see Fig. 6) of the processus acrocoracoideus do not seem to be the result of erosion resulting from postmortem transport, as this is one of the most resistant bone zones for erosion. The fact that it presents the same characteristics of similar traces in recent bones, resulting from gnawing, we think that this breakage was the result of the action of necrophagous animals. This necrophagy action may also have disassembled the skeleton.

The presence of seabirds in the Miocene of Praia do Penedo Norte is consistent with the fossil record of this paleontological site, where remains of marine vertebrates abound. The marine paleoenvironments over the continental shelf, as the calcareous nannofossils found in the sequence Praia do Penedo Norte indicate, are also in agreement with the environments frequented by birds of the genus Morus. The biostratigraphic calcareous nannofossil framework dates this specimen as Langhian (middle Miocene, 16–14 Ma).

The fossil coracoid now studied presents the main characteristics observed in coracoids of the genus Morus, as observed in the comparative study: pointed border of the cotyla scapularis, oval shape of the sacapularis cotyla, the narrow process acrocoracoid and the drop shaped facies articularis clavicularis.

Silvério Figueiredo, Carlos Neto de Carvalho, Mário Cachão and Alexandre Fonseca. 2023.  A Marine Bird (Sulidae, Aves) from the Langhian (middle Miocene) of Penedo beach (Setúbal Peninsula—SW Portugal) and Its Paleoenvironmental Context. Journal of Iberian Geology. DOI: 10.1007/s41513-022-00203-5 

 facebook.com/dinosaurcoveproject/posts/545910354263066

 

 

Un ave marina (sulidae, Aves) del Langhiense (Mioceno medio) de la playa de Penedo (Península de Setúbal - SW Portugal) y su contexto paleoambiental

Resumen: Los restos fósiles de aves del Mioceno de Portugal son escasos, abarcando un total de doce especímenes, procedentes de nueve afloramientos paleontológicos distintos ubicados en Leiria (centro de Portugal), sector sur de la península de Setúbal y a lo largo de la cuenca baja del Tajo. Este estudio se centra en un nuevo ejemplar encontrado en el alcantilado costero de la Praia do Penedo Norte (Sesimbra) correspondiente a un hueso coracoides, atribuido a Morus sp., La bioestratigrafía, basada en nanofósiles calcáreos, remite el hallazgo al Mioceno medio (Langhiense).

Palabras clave: Langhiense, Morus, Ambiente marino, Sesimbra

[Ornithology / Behaviour • 2016] Evidence that Birds Sleep in Mid-Flight

Frigatebirds reaches a wingspan of over two meters. They are excellent gliders and can cover several hundred kilometers a day.

photo: B. Voirin    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12468  

Abstract

Many birds fly non-stop for days or longer, but do they sleep in flight and if so, how? It is commonly assumed that flying birds maintain environmental awareness and aerodynamic control by sleeping with only one eye closed and one cerebral hemisphere at a time. However, sleep has never been demonstrated in flying birds. Here, using electroencephalogram recordings of great frigatebirds (Fregata minor) flying over the ocean for up to 10 days, we show that they can sleep with either one hemisphere at a time or both hemispheres simultaneously. Also unexpectedly, frigatebirds sleep for only 0.69 h d−1 (7.4% of the time spent sleeping on land), indicating that ecological demands for attention usually exceed the attention afforded by sleeping unihemispherically. In addition to establishing that birds can sleep in flight, our results challenge the view that they sustain prolonged flights by obtaining normal amounts of sleep on the wing.

Figure 1: Measuring the brain state and flight mode of flying frigatebirds.
 (a) Great frigatebird Fregata minor with a head-mounted data logger for recording the electroencephalogram (EEG) from both cerebral hemispheres and head acceleration in three dimensions. A back-mounted GPS logger recorded position and altitude. Photo: B.V. (b) Overhead view of a great frigatebird skull showing (1) the position of the cranial bulge (shaded grey) overlying the hyperpallium of each hemisphere, (2) the position of the epidural electrodes (red dots, EEG; green dot, ground) and (3) the data logger (black rectangle) just posterior to the naso-frontal hinge (arrow). Scale bar is 10 mm. (c) All GPS tracks for individual birds coded with different colours. The Galapagos Islands are outlined with black lines and the study site (Genovesa) is marked by a star. Ocean depth (m) is coded with grey scale. (d) High temporal resolution (1 Hz) 10 min flight trajectory recorded with GPS from a frigatebird (see Supplementary Movie 1 for 3D visualization) showing the circling (soaring) and straight (gliding) flight modes typical of Fregatidae13 (Methods). (e) Altitude, ground speed and airspeed (computed from the GPS data in (d)), tangential and centripetal (radial) low-pass filtered acceleration, and the absolute value of total acceleration (measured by an accelerometer) for the flight in (d). 

Niels C Rattenborg, Bryson Voirin, Sebastian M. Cruz, Ryan Tisdale, Giacomo Dell’Omo, Hans-Peter Lipp, Martin Wikelski and Alexei L. Vyssotski. 2016. Evidence that Birds Sleep in Mid-Flight. Nature Communications. 7: 12468. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12468 

First evidence of sleep in flight

Birds engage in all types of sleep in flight, but in remarkably small amounts

 mpg.de/10673637/frigatebirds-sleep