Abstract
A revision of small (the size of the modern teal Anas crecca or smaller) ducks from the middle Miocene of France (Sansan locality) and Mongolia (Sharga locality) clarified the taxonomic status and systematic position of the well-known species Anas velox Milne-Edwards, 1868 and Anas soporata Kurochkin, 1976 It is shown that three small representatives of the family Anatidae are present in the fauna of the Sansan locality: Anas velox is a diving duck, partly similar to modern Histrionicus, but smaller—here this species is transferred to the fossil genus Protomelanitta Zelenkov, 2011 (basal Mergini). A somewhat smaller taxon from Sansan represents an ecological group of dabbling ducks and belongs to Anas soporata, a species that was previously described from Mongolia and here transferred to the genus Mioquerquedula Zelenkov et Kurochkin, 2012. In addition, yet another very small duck of unclear systematic position is present in the fauna of Sansan. New materials on Mioquerquedula soporata comb. nov. and M. minutissima Zelenkov et Kurochkin, 2012 are also described from the middle Miocene of Mongolia.
Published Version
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