Burhinus bistriatus ( Wagler, 1829 )

Suárez, William, 2020, The fossil avifauna of the tar seeps Las Breas de San Felipe, Matanzas, Cuba, Zootaxa 4780 (1), pp. 1-53 : 7-8

Burhinus bistriatus ( Wagler, 1829)

Double-striped Thick-knee; Búcaro

Charadrius bistriatus Wagler, 1829 , Isis von Oken , col. 648.

Referred material. San Felipe I: Right humerus without distal end, MNHNCu 75.4783. San Felipe II: Distal end of right humerus, MNHNCu 75.4792; distal end of right tibiotarsus, MNHNCu 75.4798.

Description. These fossils are similar in characters to specimens referred to Burhinus bistriatus ( Wagler, 1829) , from other fossil localities in Cuba, and to the neontological material of that species with which it has been compared.

Comments. Burhinidae was previously cited for Las Breas de San Felipe, as Burhinus sp., by Iturralde-Vinent et al. (2000). The present material, although scarce, allows refinement of the identification to the specific level. Burhinus bistriatus is also known, and is abundant, in other Cuban deposits ( Arredondo 1984; Suárez 2000b; Suárez unpubl. data). A fossil subspecies from the Bahamas, B. b. nanus Brodkorb, 1959b, seems to be also present in Cuba (Suárez unpubl. data), being smaller than the living one in Hispaniola ( Brodkorb 1959b; Olson & Hilgartner 1982), B. b. dominicensis ( Cory, 1883), or another known from some Cuban deposits (Suárez & Olson unpubl. data). To determine the subspecific status of all these fossils from Cuba, it is necessary to expand the existing series. Oswald & Steadman (2018) consider the mentioned Bahamian taxon as a valid species.