Abstract
The oldest diving anseriform bird from the late Eocene of Kazakhstan and the evolution of aquatic adaptations in the intertarsal joint of waterfowl
Highlights
A specialized diving lifestyle has repeatedly evolved in several lineages of modern and fossil waterfowl (Anseriformes), with the oldest previously known representative being the late Oligocene Australian oxyurine ducks Pinpanetta
I describe a tarsometatarsus of a new duck-sized diving anseriform bird from the latest Eocene Kusto Svita in Eastern Kazakhstan, which predates the previously reported occurrence of diving specialization in Anseriformes by at least 6 MA
The evolutionary appearance of specialized waterfowl taxa in the late Eocene of Central Asia supports a view that this region might have played an important role in the evolution of morphologically derived Anseriformes
Summary
A specialized diving lifestyle has repeatedly evolved in several lineages of modern and fossil waterfowl (Anseriformes), with the oldest previously known representative being the late Oligocene Australian oxyurine ducks Pinpanetta. Diving specializations have never been previously documented for any of the primitive Paleogene anseriforms ( “stem-anatids”), and may be associated with the origin of modern anatid-like body plan.
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