Falco kurochkini Suárez & Olson, 2001

Suárez, William, 2022, Catalogue of Cuban fossil and subfossil birds, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 142 (1), pp. 247-248 : 55-56

35. † Falco kurochkini Suárez & Olson, 2001

Cuban Falcon (Halcón Cubano)

Falco kurochkini Suárez & Olson, 2001a , Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 114: 35.

History.— 1973: Eugene N. Kurochkin collects the first specimen, an incomplete tarsometatarsus at Cueva de los Fósiles, Camagüey province ( Suárez & Olson 2001a: 34; see Olson 1985, Olson & Kurochkin 1987). 4 May 1997: holotype collected by WS in a cave deposit in western Cuba ( Suárez & Olson 2001a: 35). Autumn 2000: specimens of the type series from western Cuba recorded as ‘ Falconidae indeterminate’ ( Suárez 2000b: table 1). 19 April 2001: original description published ( Suárez & Olson 2001a). April 2004: reported from its westernmost known fossil locality ( Suárez 2004b: 156), Cueva El Abrón, an ancient barn owl pellet deposit in mountains of Pinar del Río province ( Suárez & Díaz-Franco 2003: 375).

Holotype.—Left tarsometatarsus, MNHNCu 75.3229, formerly P3229, WS 1054 ( Suárez & Olson 2001a: 35, fig. 2D [anterior]; see also Díaz-Franco 2004: 157, Herrera-Uria et al. 2015: 114). Collected 4 May 1997 by WS in a small sink known as ‘El Sumidero’, at the type locality ( Suárez & Olson 2001a; 35; see Suárez 2000b).

Other material.— Coracoid: right, MNHNCu 75.3209 (fig. 1A [ventral]); left, USNM 510237. Humerus: left, MNHNCu 75.3210 (fig. 1B [anconal]), USNM 510238; left lacking pectoral crest, USNM 510239; incomplete left, MNHNCu 75.3211; proximal left, MNHNCu 75.3212–3214; right lacking proximal end, MNHNCu 75.3215; proximal right, USNM 510238; distal right, USNM 510241. Ulna: proximal right, MNHNCu 75.3217, USNM 510242; distal right, MNHNCu 75.3219; proximal left, MNHNCu 75.3216 (fig. 1C [internal]); distal left, MNHNCu 75.3218, USNM 510249 (fig. 1C [internal]). Carpometacarpus: proximal right, MNHNCu 75.3220 (fig. 1D [external]). Notarium: incomplete, MNHNCu 75.3221 (fig. 2A [ventral]). Femur: left, MNHNCu 75.3222 (fig. 2B [anterior]), USNM 510243; distal half of right, MNHNCu 75.3226; left lacking distal end, MNHNCu 75.3223; proximal left, MNHNCu 75.3224–3225, USNM 510244. Tibiotarsus: right, MNHNCu 75.3227 (fig. 2C [anterior]); left, USNM 510245; proximal half of left, USNM 510246; right lacking proximal end, MNHNCu 75.3230; distal right, MNHNCu 75.3228. Tarsometatarsus: right lacking proximal end, USNM 510247; left lacking distal end, IGP/ACC 406-3 (fig. 2E [anterior]); shaft of left, USNM 510248. Cited material and figures are from Suárez & Olson (2001a). See also Díaz-Franco (2004: 157), Herrera-Uria et al. (2015: 114).

Type locality.— Cueva de Sandoval ( ASA), c. 4 km south of the town of Vereda Nueva, municipality of Caimito, Artemisa [formerly La Habana] province, Cuba ( Suárez & Olson 2001a: 35). Fig. 6 .

Distribution.—Cave deposits in west and central Cuba (see Appendix). Pinar del Río. Los Palacios: PEA ( Suárez 2004b: 156). Artemisa. Caimito: ACP ( Suárez & Olson 2001a: 36), ASA = type locality ( Suárez 2000b: table 1 [‘ Falconidae indeterminate’], Suárez & Olson 2001a: 35–36 [‘ Falco kurochkini , new species’]). Mayabeque. San José de las Lajas: YCC ( Jiménez & Orihuela 2021: 169). Camagüey. Sierra de Cubitas: CFO ( Suárez & Olson 2001a: 36).

Direct 14 C dating .—None. For dating of associated fauna at PEA (17,406 ± 161 14 C yr BP), see Suárez & Díaz-Franco (2003: 373).

Notes.—Known by most postcranial elements. Present in some cave deposits ( Suárez 2000b: 67, 2004b: 156, Jiménez & Orihuela 2021: 169) containing ancient barn owl pellets (cf. Tyto furcata and T. noeli ), as this extinct falcon was frequently predated by tytonids. F. kurochkini had marked terrestrial habits with hindlimb elements slenderer than in any congeneric ( Suárez & Olson 2001a: 37).