Mycteria americana Linnaeus, 1758

Suárez, William, 2020, The fossil avifauna of the tar seeps Las Breas de San Felipe, Matanzas, Cuba, Zootaxa 4780 (1), pp. 1-53 : 10

Mycteria americana Linnaeus, 1758

Wood Stork; Cayama

( Figure 4 : J)

Mycteria americana Linnaeus, 1758 , Syst. Nat., Ed. 10, vol.1, p.140.

Referred material. San Felipe II: Scapular portion of left coracoid, MNHNCu 75.4600; proximal end of right carpometacarpus, MNHNCu 75.4601.

Description. This material (see Suárez & Olson 2003a: fig. 1) agrees with the morphology observed in the species of the genus Mycteria by having a coracoid with medial surface of the acrocoracoid flattened, rather than inflated; a carpometacarpus ( Fig. 4J ) with long proximal symphysis, internal carpal trochlea less externally bent, shallow anterior carpal fossa, and metacarpal I very excavated on both sides. It agrees in characters and size (see Suárez & Olson 2003a,151, table 1) with M. americana and differs from M. wetmorei for being slightly smaller (see preceding species).

Comments. The Wood Stork is currently considered a rare permanent resident in coastal and mangrove lagoons of Cuba, Isla de la Juventud, and major cays of the north coast ( Garrido & Kirkconnell 2011: 52). It has been erroneously recorded from different deposits in North America, confused with the fossil species Mycteria wetmorei (see Olson 1991). Fossil remains of M. americana are known in the northern hemisphere only from Las Breas de San Felipe, and given the characteristics of the Cuban material, this is the only reliable record for this species in this part of the world (cf. Suárez & Olson 2003a).

Figures

FIGURE 4. Ciconia sp.: Right tibiotarsus (MNHNCu 75.4599) in distal view (A). Mycteria wetmorei: Right carpometacarpus (MNHNCu 75.4602) in ventral view (B); right tibiotarsus (MNHNCu 75.4603) in distal (C) and anterior (D) views; left tarsometatarsus (MNHNCu 75.4757) in proximal (E), distal (F), anterior (G), medial (H) and posterior (I) views. Mycteria americana: Right carpometacarpus (MNHNCu 75.4601) in ventral view (J). Scale = 2 cm.