Ectopistes migratorius (Linnaeus, 1766)

James, Helen F., 2020, The Irvingtonian Avifauna of Cumberland Bone Cave, Maryland, Zootaxa 4772 (1), pp. 111-131 : 121

Ectopistes migratorius

Material. CM 34020, r coracoid : cranial portion lacking procoracoid process, referred to E. migratorius by Brodkorb & Mourer-Chauviré (1984). Not reexamined for this study.

USNM PAL 769090 , l tarsometatarsus: shaft missing the proximal end and the trochleae, collected Sept 22, 1994 ( Fig. 1K ) .

Description. The tarsometatarsus is much larger than in Zenaida and closer in size to those of males of Patagioenas fasciata . Proportionately long and slender compared with P. fasciata , P. leucocephala , and P. cayanensis . The median crest on the plantar surface increases in depth as it extends proximally to join the hypotarsus in Patagioenas but is shallower along its full length in the fossil. The fossil shares a shallow median crest with those of Ectopistes and Zenaida . This crest is less deep proximally in P. leucocephala than in the other Patagioenas , but still more deep than in Ecotopistes and the fossil. Only two of the five comparative skeletons of Ectopistes include the tarsometatarsus, and in both cases the bone is distinctly smaller than the fossil. Three additional partial comparative skeletons are known to be males, and these three have considerably larger skeletons, suggesting that the fossil is within the size range of male Ectopistes .

Remarks. The Cumberland Bone Cave bones referred to E. migratorius appear to be the oldest documented fossil record of the species, which is also known from late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) sites including some western localities outside the species’ historical range ( Hargrave & Emslie 1980; Chandler 1982). The cave locality falls within the primary breeding range of the species during the 19 th century ( Blockstein 2002).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Fossils from Cumberland Bone Cave compared with modern taxa.A) fossil left humerus of Meleagris sp., USNM PAL 641969, caudal aspect; B) left humerus of Meleagris gallopavo, USNM BIRDS 556334 f, caudal aspect; C) fossil left humerus of Meleagris sp., USNM PAL 641067, caudal aspect; D) fossil right femur of Coragyps atratus, USNM PAL 641790, cranial aspect; E) right femur of C. atratus, USNM BIRDS 647499 m, cranial aspect; F) fossil proximal right carpometacarpus of fossil Branta dickeyi, USNM PAL 641972, ventral aspect; G) proximal right carpometacarpus of B. canadensis, USNM BIRDS 488182 m, ventral aspect; H) left tarsometatarsus of Falcipennis canadensis, USNM BIRDS 557527 f, plantar aspect; I) fossil left tarsometatarsus of Bonasa umbellus, USNM PAL 641979, plantar aspect; J) left tarsometatarsus of B. umbellus, USNM BIRDS 600360 f imm., plantar aspect; K) fossil left tarsometatarsus of Ectopistes migratorius, USNM PAL 769090, plantar aspect; L) tarsometatarsus of E. migratorius, USNM BIRDS 292904 (captive), plantar aspect; M) fossil left femur of Megascops guildayi, USNM PAL 769089, caudal aspect; N) left femur of Megascops asio, USNM 623630 f, caudal aspect; O) fossil right ulna of M. guildayi, USNM PAL 641984, ventral aspect; P) right ulna of M. asio, USNM BIRDS 623630 f, ventral aspect; Q) right tarsometatarsus of Perisoreus canadensis, USNM BIRDS 639077 f, dorsal aspect; R) fossil right tarsometatarsus of a species of jay (Corvidae, aff. Perisoreus/Cyanocitta), CM 24274, dorsal aspect; S) fossil right tarsometatarsus of a species of jay (Corvidae, aff. Cyanocitta/Perisoreus), USNM PAL 641989, dorsal aspect; T) right tarsometatarsus of Cyanocitta cyanea, USNM BIRDS 499504 f, dorsal aspect. Scale bar 1, for images A–G, = 2 cm. Scale bar 2, for images H–N, = 1 cm.