Gigantohierax itchei Suárez, 2020

Suárez, William, 2022, Catalogue of Cuban fossil and subfossil birds, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 142 (1), pp. 247-248 : 34-35

15. † Gigantohierax itchei Suárez, 2020

Itche’s Eagle (Águila de Itche)

Gigantohierax itchei Suárez, 2020 a, Zootaxa 4780: 25.

Holotype.—Distal third of right tarsometatarsus lacking trochlea IV, MNHNCu 75.4869 (Suárez 2020a: 25, fig. 11: M [anterior], N [medial], O [posterior], P [distal]). Collected in San Felipe II, during 25–28 November 1998 by members of the Depto. de Geología y Paleontología, MNHNCu (see ‘Type locality’).

Other material.— Femur: proximal end of fragmentary right, MNHNCu 75.4725 (Suárez 2020a: 25, fig. 11: J [anterior], K [posterior], L [lateral]).

Type locality.— Las Breas de San Felipe ( MLB), c. 5.5 km west of the town of Martí , San Felipe Valley, municipality of Martí, Matanzas province, Cuba (Suárez 2020a: 25; for description of this deposit see Iturralde-Vinent et al. 2000). Fig. 5 .

Distribution.—Asphalt deposits in west Cuba (see Appendix). Matanzas. Martí: MLB (Suárez 2020a: 25).

Direct 14 C dating .—None. For dating of other bird species at the type locality, see Antigone cubensis , Gymnogyps varonai and Ornimegalonyx oteroi , and of associated extinct mammals ( Parocnus browni = 11,880 ± 420 to 4,960 ± 280 years 14 C BP), see Jull et al. (2004) and Steadman et al. (2005).

Notes.—Very rare. Unknown from other Quaternary deposits in Cuba. This taxon is c.29% smaller than Gigantohierax suarezi . The holotype, MNHNCu 75.4869, was for some time held in the same collection under the incorrect catalogue number P4569, preoccupied by material of Milvago carbo (see below).