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A small loon and a new species of large owl from the Rupelian of Belgium (Aves: Gaviiformes, Strigiformes)

The early Oligocene Boom Formation in Belgium yielded many avian remains from the Rupelian unit-stratotype, most of which have remained unstudied so far. Here, I describe a small loon (Gaviiformes) and a new species of large owl (Strigiformes) that are represented by associated bones of a single individual each. The loon, of which wing and pectoral girdle bones are preserved, is assigned to Colymboides (?) metzleri, a species previously known from a partial skeleton from the Rupelian of Germany. The owl is based on a tarsometatarsus and distal tibiotarsus and described as a new species, Selenornis steendorpensis. It constitutes the most substantial fossil record of the taxon Selenornis, which was before known from a distal tibiotarsus from an unknown horizon of the Quercy fissure fillings in southwestern France. It is detailed that there are differences in the higher level taxonomic composition of the known early Oligocene avifaunas of northern and southern Europe, which may reflect true zoogeographic facts owing to a different climate and vegetation.

Die unteroligozäne Boom Formation in Belgien lieferte zahlreiche Vogelüberreste aus dem Stratotyp der Rupel-Stufe, von denen die meisten allerdings bis jetzt unbearbeitet blieben. Hier beschreibe ich einen kleinen Seetaucher (Gaviiformes) und eine neue Art einer großen Eule (Strigiformes), die jeweils durch mehrere Knochen eines einzelnen Individuums repräsentiert sind. Der Seetaucher, von dem Flügel- und Schultergürtelelemente erhalten sind, wird zu Colymboides (?) metzleri gestellt, einer Art, die bisher nur von einem Teilskelett aus dem Rupelton Deutschlands bekannt war. Die Eule basiert auf einem Tarsometatarsus und einem distalen Tibiotarsus und wird als neue Art, Selenornis steendorpensis, beschrieben. Sie stellt den umfangreichsten Fossilnachweis des Taxons Selenornis dar, welches bisher nur von einem distalen Tibiotarsus von einem unbekannten Horizont der Spaltfüllungen des Quercy im südwestlichem Frankreich bekannt war. Es wird ausgeführt, dass es Unterschiede bezüglich der taxonomischen Zusammensetzung der unteroligozänen Avifaunen von Nord- und Südeuropa gibt, welche möglicherweise tatsächliche tiergeographische Tatsachen infolge eines unterschiedlichen Klimas und einer unterschiedlichen Vegetation widerspiegeln.

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I thank Thierry Smith and Annelise Folie (both IRSNB) for the loan of the fossil specimens, Sven Tränkner (Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg) for taking the photographs, and J. Noriega (CONICET, Argentina) and U. Göhlich (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) for reviewing the manuscript.

1. Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Sektion Ornithologie, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

   Gerald Mayr

Correspondence to Gerald Mayr.

Mayr, G. A small loon and a new species of large owl from the Rupelian of Belgium (Aves: Gaviiformes, Strigiformes). Paläontol Z 83, 247–254 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-009-0019-3

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• Received: 12 February 2009

• Accepted: 01 April 2009

• Published: 05 May 2009

• Issue Date: June 2009

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-009-0019-3

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