A new stem-anseriform from Paleocene Antarctica

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A new genus of stem-anseriform has been described from Paleocene age remains from the Lopez de Bertodano Formation of Antarctica. The new genus has been given the name Conflicto antarcticus ("Antarctic contradiction"), with the genus name originating from the Latin word "conflictius," meaning "contradiction," in reference to the controversial systematic placement of this genus, and the species name originating from Antarctica, the location where the remains of the new genus were discovered. The remains of the new genus show that the animal was capable of flight and had a slender body with elongated legs compared to its body, which is the opposite of the legs of modern ducks. The paper describing the new genus suggests that it is closely related to the genus Anatalavis, suggesting that the duck-like beak of anseriforms must have developed during an early stage of their evolution. The paper also shows that Conflicto represents one of the most complete non-marine Paleocene birds known from the Southern Hemisphere and suggests that the new genus shows that Neognathae had already diversified in the earliest Paleocene period. Here are some images of the remains used to describe the new genus, a skeletal of the known remains, a reconstruction of the new genus by paleoartist H. Santiago Druetta, and a link to the paper describing it.






Paper (abstract only): https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/186/3/673/5281199?redirectedFrom=fulltext