Turnipax
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| Turnipax Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Turnicidae |
| Genus: | †Turnipax Mayr, 2000 |
| Type species | |
| †T. dissipata Mayr, 2000 | |
| Other species | |
| |
Turnipax is an extinct genus of buttonquail from the Oligocene Rupelian epoch. The type species, T. dissipata, was found near the village of Céreste-en-Luberon in France.[1] A second species, T. oechslerorum, was described based on a nearly complete and slightly dissociated skeleton found south of Wiesloch, Germany.[2]
The type species was described by Mayr (2000) after a strongly dissociated skeleton preserving vertebrae, ribs, humeri, coracoids, scapulae, furcula, pelvis and the legs from Rupelian aged deposits near Céreste-en-Luberon village, southern France. The genus name is a combination of Scolopax, a genus of charadriiform and Turnix, a genus of turnicid. This name reflects both charadriiform and turnicid characters of the species. The species name comes from the Latin dissipatus, meaning "scattered" or "dispersed". This refers to the specimen's preservation.[1]
In 2007, Mayr and Knopf named a second species, T. oechslerorum after an almost complete slightly dissociated skeleton that only lacks the head and the right foot. The specimen was found in the lower Oligocene Frauenweiler fossil site, near the Wiesloch town, southern Germany. The species name honors Annette and Harald Oechsler, who significantly contributed to the discovery of the Frauenweiler fossils.[2]