The Deseado Formation of PatagoniaLoomis, Frederic Brewster
Science
The Deseado Formation of Patagonia
Loomis, Frederic Brewster
Paleontology -- Patagonia (Argentina and Chile)
[Illustration: Fig. 149. Right femur, back view—½ natural size.]
MEASUREMENTS
Femur, least diam. of the shaft 58 mm.
Femur, diameter across the condyles 148 mm.
=Physornis= sp.?
Two phalanges of a size too small to belong to the above species
represent a second smaller bird of this type, about equal in size to
_Phororhacus inflatus_. I give a figure of one toe but would wait for
more typical material before establishing a species.
[Illustration: Fig. 150. Proximal phalanx of Physornis sp?—natural
size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 151. Loxornis clivus, lower end of tibio-tarsus,
after Ameghino—natural size.]
=Loxornis= Ameghino
Loxornis Amegh., 1895, Bol. Inst. Geog. Argen., t. 15, p. 595.
Another group of bones, which we found with considerable frequency,
have the same features as _Pelecyornis_ of the Santa Cruz. Ameghino has
described but the lower end of a tibio-tarsus which can be associated
with these bones and to it gave the name _Loxornis_. I can not
find much variation from _Pelecyornis_ except that the coracoid is
considerably shorter and wider, and there is a slight variation in the
lower end of the tibio-tarsus. These then are the bases of the generic
name.
=Loxornis clivus= Ameghino
L. clivus Amegh., 1895, Bol. Inst. Geog. Argen., t. 15, p. 595.
Under this name Ameghino has described the lower end of a tibio-tarsus,
a figure of which I reproduce here. This is of a size to complete the
tibio-tarsus which we found, lacking the lower end, and agrees in
size with the other bones which we found, so that I shall describe
my material under this name. The species is in size comparable to
_Pelecyornis tubulatus_ with which it agrees closely.
[Illustration: Fig. 152. Humerus—½ natural size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 153. Sternum, thin parts lacking—½ natural size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 154. Coracoid—½ natural size.]
We found the upper four-fifths of a tibio-tarsus, associated with part
of the fibula, the sternum, the humerus, and the coracoid; a second
specimen consisting of a complete tarso-metatarsus, and fragments of
the pelvis, vertebrae and wing bones; a third specimen consisting of
part of the tibio-tarsus, and various fragments; a fourth consisting
of a femur, and lastly two toes; all evidently representing one
species, which in most respects is almost identical with _Pelecyornis
tubulatus_. These all came from the Chico del Chubut, west of Puerto
Visser.
The humerus has a large head but is considerably flattened at the
proximal end. The internal side is deeply excavated, the shaft is
slender and light as though the wing were quite reduced, though not so
much as in _Pelecyornis_ and not nearly as much as in _Phororhacus_.
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