New data on stem group Galliformes, Charadriiformes, and Psittaciformes from the middle Eocene of Namibia
Résumé
The late middle Eocene (Bartonian) locality of Eocliff, in the Sperrgebiet (Namibia)
has yielded a rich vertebrate fauna. Some birds have already been described from this locality:
a small quail, Scopelortyx klinghardtensis, belonging to the extinct family Paraortygidae,
and a small parrot, Namapsitta praeruptorum, referred to a family incertae sedis. In the new
material remains of Scopelortyx occur which confirm the presence of the family Paraortygidae.
Some fossils are attributed to a Charadriiform, closely related to the recent family Turnicidae
(Buttonquails and Lark Buttonquails). Fossil remains of Turnicidae are very rare and stem
group representatives of this family were hitherto known only from the Early Oligocene of the
Northern Hemisphere. The Eocliff form is the earliest known worldwide. The new material of
Namapsitta shows plesiomorphic characteristics and this genus is now placed in its own family
Namapsittidae. The palaeoenvironment indicated by these birds includes grasslands with trees.