A new passerine bird from the early Oligocene of Poland

Abstract

We describe a nearly complete articulated specimen representing a new species and genus, Jamna szybiaki gen. et sp. nov., of an early Oligocene passeriform bird from Poland. In overall osteology, the specimen resembles extant Passeriformes but it differs from that group in several characters including the not bifurcated spina externa (sternum) and the absence of a hooked processus acrocoracoideus (coracoid). Its affinities within Passeriformes cannot be resolved at the moment due to the lack of characters that would support its position within either Oscines or Suboscines. For the first time in Paleogene passerines, wing and tail feathers are visible which provide new information on the external appearance of the bird. Its morphology suggests that it was a frugivorous/insectivorous bird that lived in shrubs and forests.