Scaniornis

Taxobox
name = "Scaniornis"
status = fossil
fossil_range = Early Paleocene/Middle Paleocene
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
subclassis = Neornithes
infraclassis = Neognathae
superordo = Neoaves
ordo = Phoenicopteriformes?
genus = "Scaniornis"
genus_authority = Dames, 1890
species = "S. lundgreni"
binomial = "Scaniornis lundgreni"
binomial_authority = Dames, 1890

"Scaniornis" is a prehistoric bird genus. The only species, "Scaniornis lundgreni", lived in the MP 1-5 (Early Paleocene, perhaps Middle Paleocene: c. 65 - 59 million years ago).

It is known from a partial fossil skeleton of a right wing, namely the coracoid, scapula and humerus found at Limhamn (Sweden) and other bones found at Selk (Germany). Thus, it would seem to have been a native of the prehistoric North Sea, which at that time covered part of today's Germany and France, and sometimes was cut off from the Tethys and Atlantic Oceans, sometimes connected to them, and sometimes even to the Turgai Sea. Situated a bit southwestwards — between 44 and 54 degrees North — of its present location due to plate tectonics, in a fairly wet and warm epoch, the region had probably a warm-temperate to subtropical and fairly humid climate, altogether not too dissimilar from today's Black Sea region or French Mediterranean.

It appears to be somewhat similar to flamingos and was long placed with these, and thus would strongly suggest that the Phoenicopteriformes evolved in the Late Cretaceous of immediately thereafter. As flamingos are now thought to be related to grebes [See Flamingo for details.] , the placement of "Scaniornis" requires reanalysis (Mlíkovský 2002). It was also united with other wading or presumed shorebirds into the "Graculavidae", a form taxon of "transitional shorebirds". This group is now known to be paraphyletic and has no standing in systematics anymore.

The presumed relative "Parascaniornis" is now known to be a hesperornithine of the genus "Baptornis". The Hesperornithes which became extinct by the end of the Cretaceous and "Scaniornis" which appears clearly a neornithine are not closely related at all.

"Scaniornis" was sometimes united with the Cretaceous "Gallornis" in the family Scaniornithidae. "Gallornis", however, is of even more unclear relationships; it might be an early member of the Galloanserae. In any case it was subsequently not considered close to "Scaniornis" anymore but rather united with the supposed "Cretaceous proto-flamingos" "Parascaniornis" and "Torotix", none of which seems even reasonably close to flamingos today. [See also the discussion in Sibley "et al." (1969).]

Footnotes

References

*cite book |title=Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe |last=Mlíkovský |first=Jirí |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2002 |publisher=Ninox Press |location=Prague |isbn=8090110538 |pages= |url=http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf
*cite journal |last=Sibley |first=Charles G. |authorlink= |coauthors=Corbin, Kendall W.; Haavie, Joan H. |year=1969 |month= |title=The Relationships of the Flamingos as Indicated by the Egg-White Proteins and Hemoglobins |journal=Condor |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=155–179 |id= |url=http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/issues/v071n02/p0155-p0179.pdf |accessdate= |quote=