A Nearly Complete Skeleton of the Fossil Galliform Bird Palaeortyx from the Late Oligocene of Germany

Abstract

Phasianid galliform birds do not occur in Europe before the end of the early Oligocene, and their Paleogene fossil record mainly comprises isolated bones. Here we describe a nearly complete and articulated skeleton of a phasianid galliform bird from the late Oligocene of Enspel in Germany. The specimen is assigned to Palaeortyx cf. gallica Milne-Edwards, 1869 and for the first time allows the recognition of cranial and pelvic details in a late Oligocene phasianid. Many gizzard stones are preserved in both the gizzard and the crop, and constitute the earliest fossil evidence for grit use in a phasianid galliform.