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Vegavis

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Vegavis
Temporal range: Maastrichtian
~69.2–68.4 Ma[1]
↓
Fossils displayed in Japan
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: †Vegaviidae
Genus: †Vegavis
Clarke et al., 2005
Species:
†V. iaai
Binomial name
†Vegavis iaai
Clarke et al., 2005

Vegavis is a genus of extinct bird that lived in Antarctica during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. The type and only species is Vegavis iaai, representing one of the earliest known crown group birds. Initially described as member of Anseriformes within Galloanserae, the definitive taxonomic position of Vegavis was debated among paleontologists over two decades until the 2025 description of a nearly complete skull, discovered in 2011, supported its original classification.

Taxonomy

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Size (upper right) compared to contemporary birds, pterosaurs, and a human

The genus name, Vegavis, is a combination of the name of Vega Island and "avis", the Latin word for bird, while the species name, "iaai", is after the acronym for Instituto Antartico Argentino (IAA), the Argentine scientific expedition to Antarctica.[2] The holotype is held by the Museo de La Plata, Argentina.[3] The specimen, cataloged as MLP 93-I-3-1, was found in 1993 from the López de Bertodano Formation at Cape Lamb on Vega Island, Antarctica, and was first thought to be an indeterminate presbyornithid.[4] It was only described as a new species in 2005, because it consists of the very delicate remains of one bird embedded in a concretion, which had to be meticulously prepared for study. CT scans were utilized to gain a clearer picture of the bone structure without running danger of damaging or destroying the fossil.[2]

A second specimen, MACN-PV 19.748 (formerly MLP 93-I-3-2), was found beside the holotype specimen.[3] It was preserved in three dimensions, so CT scans were again utilized to visualize the intact syrinx of this specimen. The syrinx has an asymmetrical third segment, suggesting that Vegavis had two sources of sound in the neck and along with large soft-tissue resonating structures. This indicates that it was likely capable of honks as in ducks, geese, and other basal neognaths.[5] In 2019, an isolated femur (SDSM 78247) was referred to as Vegavis sp.[6] In 2023, a synsacrum (MN 7832-V) was referred to as cf. V. iaai.[7]

After 20 years since the formal naming of Vegavis, a nearly complete skull specimen (AMNH FARB 30899) discovered by Eric M. Roberts in 2011 from the López de Bertodano Formation was officially described in 2025. The morphology of this skull supports the placement of Vegavis within crown-group Aves, specifically as a member of the Anseriformes, and provides novel insight into its feeding ecology.[8]

Classification

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Life restoration based on Angolín et al. (2017)

Vegavis was initially described as a member of the stem-group Anseriformes within Galloanserae, indicating that representatives of some of the groups of modern birds lived in the Mesozoic.[2]

However, some paleontologists questioned its affinities to Anseriformes or Galloanserae,[9] with some classifying it as a stem-group bird within Ornithurae,[10] a crown group bird outside Galloanserae,[3][11] a sister taxon of the Neornithes or at the base of Neognathae with an unresolved position.[12] In contrast, Vegavis was recovered as a sister taxon of Anatidae or Anseriformes within Galloanserae based on phylogenetic analyses in 2024.[13][14] In a 2025 study which described a nearly complete skull of Vegavis, Torres et al. supported its placement within Anseriformes among crown-group Aves, sister to Conflicto and Anas, based on their revised phylogenetic analyses.[8]

Agnolín et al. (2017) proposed the family Vegaviidae to contain Vegavis, Polarornis and several other extinct avian genera,[15] but the monophyly of this clade was questioned by subsequent studies.[9][8] The fragmentary Polarornis might possibly belong to this clade, but the reported specimens are poorly preserved to resolve its taxonomic affinities.[8] Worthy et al. (2017) also proposed the order Vegaviiformes to include Vegaviidae,[16] but this clade was never mentioned by other researchers except for the describers of Conflicto antarcticus.[17]

Paleobiology

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Vegavis was a bird with a high metabolism, which allowed it to live at high latitudes in Antarctica. It also shows a degree of osteosclerosis, a condition shared with Polarornis. This different degrees of osteosclerosis could be related to variations in diving behaviour.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Roberts, E. M.; O'Connor, P. M.; Clarke, J. A.; Slotznick, S. P.; Placzek, C. J.; Tobin, T. S.; Hannaford, C.; Orr, T.; Jinnah, Z. A.; Claeson, K. M.; Salisbury, S.; Kirschvink, J. L.; Pirrie, D.; Lamanna, M. C. (2022). "New age constraints support a K/Pg boundary interval on Vega Island, Antarctica: Implications for latest Cretaceous vertebrates and paleoenvironments". GSA Bulletin. 135 (3–4): 867–885. doi:10.1130/B36422.1. S2CID 250577048.
  2. ^ a b c Clarke, J.A.; Tambussi, C.P.; Noriega, J.I.; Erickson, G.M.; Ketcham, R.A. (2005). "Definitive fossil evidence for the extant avian radiation in the Cretaceous" (PDF). Nature. 433 (7023): 305–308. Bibcode:2005Natur.433..305C. doi:10.1038/nature03150. PMID 15662422. S2CID 4354309. Supporting information
  3. ^ a b c Acosta Hospitaleche, C.; Worthy, T.H. (2021). "New data on the Vegavis iaai holotype from the Maastrichtian of Antarctica". Cretaceous Research. 124. 104818. Bibcode:2021CrRes.12404818A. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104818. S2CID 233703816.
  4. ^ Noriega, J.I.; Tambussi, C.P. (1995). "A Late Cretaceous Presbyornithidae (Aves: Anseriformes) from Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula: Paleobiogeographic implications". Ameghiniana. 32 (1): 57–61. ISSN 0002-7014.
  5. ^ Clarke, J.A.; Chatterjee, S.; Li, Z.; Riede, T.; Agnolin, F.; Goller, F.; Isasi, M.P.; Martinioni, D.R.; Mussel, F.J.; Novas, F.E. (2016). "Fossil evidence of the avian vocal organ from the Mesozoic". Nature. 538 (7626): 502–505. Bibcode:2016Natur.538..502C. doi:10.1038/nature19852. hdl:11336/64786. PMID 27732575. S2CID 4389926.
  6. ^ Abagael R. West; Christopher R. Torres; Judd A. Case; Julia A. Clarke; Patrick M. O'Connor; Matthew C. Lamanna (2019). "An avian femur from the Late Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula: removing the record of cursorial landbirds from the Mesozoic of Antarctica". PeerJ. 7: e7231. doi:10.7717/peerj.7231. PMC 6626523. PMID 31333904.
  7. ^ SOUZA, GEOVANE A. DE; BULAK, BRUNO A.; SOARES, MARINA B.; SAYÃO, JULIANA M.; WEINSCHÜTZ, LUIZ CARLOS; BATEZELLI, ALESSANDRO; KELLNER, ALEXANDER W.A. (2023). "The Cretaceous Neornithine record and new Vegaviidae specimens from the López de Bertodano Formation (Upper Maastrichthian) of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 95 (suppl 3). doi:10.1590/0001-3765202320230802. ISSN 1678-2690.
  8. ^ a b c d Torres, Christopher R.; Clarke, Julia A.; Groenke, Joseph R.; Lamanna, Matthew C.; MacPhee, Ross D. E.; Musser, Grace M.; Roberts, Eric M.; O’Connor, Patrick M. (2025). "Cretaceous Antarctic bird skull elucidates early avian ecological diversity". Nature. 638 (8049): 146–151. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08390-0. ISSN 1476-4687.
  9. ^ a b Mayr, G.; De Pietri, V.L.; Scofield, R.P.; Worthy, T.H. (2018). "On the taxonomic composition and phylogenetic affinities of the recently proposed clade Vegaviidae Agnolín et al., 2017 ‒ neornithine birds from the Upper Cretaceous of the Southern Hemisphere)". Cretaceous Research. 86: 178–185. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.02.013. hdl:2328/37887. S2CID 134876425.
  10. ^ Sandy M. S. McLachlan; Gary W. Kaiser; Nicholas R. Longrich (2017). "Maaqwi cascadensis: A large, marine diving bird (Avialae: Ornithurae) from the Upper Cretaceous of British Columbia, Canada". PLOS ONE. 12 (12): e0189473. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1289473M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189473. PMC 5722380. PMID 29220405.
  11. ^ Álvarez-Herrera, G. P.; Rozadilla, S.; Agnolín, F. L.; Novas, F. E. (2024). "Jaw anatomy of Vegavis iaai (Clarke et al., 2005) from the Late Cretaceous Antarctica, and its phylogenetic implications". Geobios. 83: 11–20. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2023.03.004. S2CID 259955013.
  12. ^ Field, Daniel J.; Benito, Juan; Chen, Albert; Jagt, John W. M.; Ksepka, Daniel T. (18 March 2020). "Late Cretaceous neornithine from Europe illuminates the origins of crown birds". Nature. 579 (7799): 397–401. Bibcode:2020Natur.579..397F. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2096-0. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 32188952. S2CID 212937591.
  13. ^ Musser, G.; Clarke, J. A. (2024). "A new Paleogene fossil and a new dataset for waterfowl (Aves: Anseriformes) clarify phylogeny, ecological evolution, and avian evolution at the K-Pg Boundary". PLOS ONE. 19 (7). e0278737. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0278737. PMC 11288464. PMID 39078833.
  14. ^ Crane, A.; Benito, J.; Chen, A.; Musser, G.; Torres, C. R.; Clarke, J. A.; Lautenschlager, S.; Ksepka, D. T.; Field, D. J. "Taphonomic damage obfuscates interpretation of the retroarticular region of the Asteriornis mandible". Geobios. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2024.03.003.
  15. ^ Agnolín, F.L.; Egli, F.B.; Chatterjee, S.; Marsà, J.A.G (2017). "Vegaviidae, a new clade of southern diving birds that survived the K/T boundary". The Science of Nature. 104 (87): 87. Bibcode:2017SciNa.104...87A. doi:10.1007/s00114-017-1508-y. hdl:11336/50697. PMID 28988276. S2CID 253640553.
  16. ^ Worthy, T.H.; Degrange, F.J.; Handley, W.D.; Lee, M.S.Y. (2017). "The evolution of giant flightless birds and novel phylogenetic relationships for extinct fowl (Aves, Galloanseres)". Royal Society Open Science. 11 (10): 170975. Bibcode:2017RSOS....470975W. doi:10.1098/rsos.170975. PMC 5666277. PMID 29134094.
  17. ^ Tambussi, Claudia P; Degrange, Federico J; De Mendoza, Ricardo S; Sferco, Emilia; Santillana, Sergrio (2019-01-09). "A stem anseriform from the early Palaeocene of Antarctica provides new key evidence in the early evolution of waterfowl". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 186 (3): 673–700. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly085. ISSN 0024-4082.
  18. ^ Garcia, Jordi Alexis; Agnolín, Federico L.; Novas, Fernando (2019). "Bone microstructure of Vegavis iaai (Aves, Anseriformes) from the Upper Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula". Historical Biology. 31 (2): 163–167. Bibcode:2019HBio...31..163M. doi:10.1080/08912963.2017.1348503. S2CID 133907659.
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