Parapsittacopes
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| Parapsittacopes Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Passerimorphae |
| Family: | †Psittacopedidae |
| Genus: | †Parapsittacopes Mayr, 2020 |
| Type species | |
| †Parapsittacopes bergdahli Mayr, 2020 | |
Parapsittacopes is an extinct genus of psittacopedid bird from the Early Eocene London Clay, United Kingdom. The genus contains one species, Parapsittacopes bergdahli.
The holotype of Parasittacopes was collected from the London Clay near Walton-on-the-Naze by Paul Bergdahl of Kirby-le-Soken, a private collector. The specimen later became available to science with the help of Bergdahl's son, and is designated SMF Av 653. The specimen consists of a partial skeleton, including the skull, some of the jaw bones, several vertebrae, parts of the scapula, coracoid, and furcula, parts of many wing bones, and significant portions of the legs and feet.[1]
In 2020, Parapsittacopes bergdahli was described as a new genus and species of psittacopedid by Gerald Mayr. The generic name is from Greek para, meaning "next to", and Psittacopes, the type genus of the Psittacopedidae to which Parapsittacopes is referred. The specific ephitet bergdahli is after Paul Bergdahl, the collector who initially discovered and excavated the holotype.[1]
In 2022, additional material of the specimen NMS.Z.2021.40.43 was referred to Parapsittacopes. This specimen preserves bones of the wings, including parts of the ulnae, a radius, portions of the humerus, a left coracoid, part of a scapula, and several bones of the manus.[2]
Description
Parapsittacopes was a moderately small bird, about the size of the Speckled mousebird (Colius striatus). The upper beak is less than half the length of the skull as a whole, and is short and wide. The openings of the nostrils are very large. The beak is comparable to that of the Bohemian waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus). The coracoid bears a large procoracoid process, protruding from the side of the bone, and does not have a foramen for the supracoracoid nerve but rather a groove. The keel has a sharply pointed tip which protrudes forward. The humerus is short and wide, resembling that of mousebirds. The ulna is longer than the radius. In the pelvis, the ilium is not co-ossified with the synsacrum, a condition rare in modern arboreal birds. The femur is relatively long. There is a depression of the trochlea of the third toe and a splayed trochlea of the fourth toe, indicating that Parapsittacopes had a zygodactyl foot arrangement.[1]