Archaeopsittacus

Taxobox
name = "Archaeopsittacus"
status = fossil
fossil_range = Late Oligocene/Early Miocene
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
subclassis = Neornithes
infraclassis = Neoaves
ordo = Psittaciformes
familia = Psittacidae
subfamilia = Psittacinae?
genus = "Archaeopsittacus" Lambrecht, 1933
species = "A. verreauxi"
binomial = "Archaeopsittacus verreauxi"
binomial_authority = (A. Milne-Edwards, 1870)
synonyms =
*"Psittacus verreauxii" ("lapsus")
Taxobox_authority | author = A. Milne-Edwards | date = 1870

"Archaeopsittacus" is a genus of prehistoric parrot. It is known from deposits of either Late Oligocene or Early Miocene age (c. 23 mya) at VerreauxVerify source|date=July 2007 near Saint-Gérand-le-Puy, France. A single species, "Archaeopsittacus verreauxi" [
Etymology: "Ancient parrot from Verreaux". "Archaeopsittacus", Latinized Ancient Greek, from "archaios" ("αρχαίος") "ancient" + "psittakos" ("ψιττακός") "parrot". Chosen by Milne-Edwards to denote the similarities to the modern genus "Psittacus". "verreauxi", Latin for "from Verreaux"Verify source|date=July 2007.] ,is known.

The genus was apparently close to the Old World lineages of parrots and might conceivably be assigned to the modern subfamily Psittacinae - either in the strict sense (i.e. including the African parrots and possibly the Asian parrots and parakeets) or in the loose sense (including all psittaciforms except some or all of lories and lorikeets, cockatoos, Nestorinae, kakapo and Arini), despite its early age. Its lack of apomorphies prevents any better placement until more material is found. [Mayr & Göhlich 2004]

Footnotes

References

* (1933): [Genus "Archaeopsittacus"] "In: Handbuch der Palaeornithologie": 609. Gebrüder Bornträger, Berlin.
* (2004): A new parrot from the Miocene of Germany, with comments on the variation of hypotarsus morphology in some Psittaciformes. "Belgian Journal of Zoology" 134(1): 47-54. [http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/abteilung/terrzool/ornithologie/parrot.pdf PDF fulltext]
* (1870): Observations sur la faune ornithologique du Bourbonnais pendant la période tertiaire moyenne. "C. R. hebd. Acad. sci." 70(11): 557-559. [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k30279 Fulltext at Gallica]