Genus Anatalavis, new genus
Type-Species.—Telmatornis rex Shufeldt, 1915.
Included Species.—Type-species only.
Diagnosis.—Differs from Telmatornis and Presbyornis in (1) having the shaft very short, stout, and much more curved, both in dorsoventral and lateromedial views. Differs from Telmatornis and agrees with Presbyornis in (2) having the distal end in distal view deeper, with (3) a narrower and much deeper olecranal fossa. Also, (4) the brachial depression is smaller and narrower than in Telmatornis but not as deep, nor as proximally situated as in Presbyornis.
Etymology.—"Duck-winged bird," from Latin anas, duck, ala, wing, and avis, bird. The gender is feminine.
Anatalavis rex (Shufeldt, 1915), new combination
Figure 6a,b,dJ
Holotype.—Right humerus lacking proximal end, YPM 902 (Figure 6a).
Locality and Horizon.—From Hornerstown, Upper Freehold Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey; collected by W. Ross in 1878; probably Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), basal Hornerstown Formation.
Referred Specimen.—Paratypical left humerus lacking proximal end, YPM 948 (Figure 6b,d,f). From Hornerstown, Upper Freehold Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey; collected by J.G. Meirs in 1869; probably Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), basal Hornerstown Formation.
Measurements (in mm).—Humeri (YPM 902, YPM 948, respectively): distal width 13.6, 13.2; depth through dorsal condyle 7.3, 7.5; width of shaft at proximal extent of brachial fossa 7.2,7.5; length from distal end of pectoral crest to ventral condyle 49.1, 50.7; shaft width at midpoint 5.4, 5.6.
Remarks.—Shufeldt (1915:27) described this species in the same genus as T. priscus and T. affinis but correctly noted that the humerus "is a short one ... its sigmoid curve very pronounced." Cracraft (1972:41) considered that "except for its decidedly larger size, T. rex does not differ from T. priscus in any significant features." In fairness to these authors, it should be noted that the great differences between Anatalavis and Telmatornis are much more apparent in comparisons with the new humerus of T. priscus (ANSP 15360), which preserves much more of the shaft than the previously known specimens. Both Shufeldt and Cracraft considered YPM 948 to belong to the same species as the holotype of T. rex, and we concur.
The specimens of A. rex are not comparable with the type of Graculavus velox, which was from a larger bird. Anatalavis rex was a larger, heavier bird than Telmatornis priscus, with the humerus remarkably short and robust, so that the overall length of the humerus in A. rex would scarcely have exceeded that of T. priscus. Anatalavis must have been a bird of considerably different flight habits from Telmatornis or Presbyornis. The overall appearance of its humerus is in fact rather duck-like, except for the more expanded distal end. It is still quite short and stout even for a duck.
Genus Laornis Marsh, 1870
Type-Species.—Laornis edvardsianus Marsh, 1870, by monotypy.
Included Species.—Type species only.
Laornis edvardsianus Marsh, 1870
Figure 8a,c,e
Holotype.—Distal end of right tibiotarsus, YPM 820.
Locality and Horizon.—From pits of the Pemberton Marl Company at Birmingham, Burlington County, New Jersey; collected by J.C. Gaskill; Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), basal Hornerstown Formation.
Measurements (in mm).—Distal end of tibiotarsus, YPM 820: distal width across condyles 22.6, depth of external condyle 19.3, depth of internal condyle 21.1, least shaft width 11.7, least shaft depth 9.6.
Comparisons.—The very large size of this specimen has undoubtedly been a factor in misleading those who have attempted to identify it, as it came from a bird the size of a swan or a large crane. The affinities of this fossil have long been questioned and the species has for most of its history been in limbo. Marsh (1870:207) concluded only that Laornis "shows a strong resemblance in several respects to the Lamellirostres [Anseriformes], and also to the Longipennes [Charadriiformes (Lari) and Procellariiformes], but differs essentially from the typical forms of both of these groups." In its own nebulous way, this assessment is concordant with our placement of Laornis in a charadriiform group that was near the ancestry of the Anseriformes. Doubtless only on the strength of Marsh's comments. Cope (1869-1870:237) placed Laornis in the "Lamellirostres." Hay (1902:531) included Laornis in the Anatidae. Shufeldt (1915:23) hardly clarified matters when he characterized Laornis as "at least one of the generalized types of waders," being a "remarkable type, which seems to have, judging from this piece of the tibiotarsus, Turkey, Swan, Crane, and even other groups all combined in it." Lambrecht (1933:526) included Laornis as a genus incertae sedis in his "Telmatoformes," between the Aramidae and Otididae.
The type was restudied by Cracraft (1973:46) who put Laornis in the Gruiformes and created a new family (Laornithidae) and superfamily (Laornithoidea) for it. He included it in his suborder Ralli, the only other member of which was the Rallidae. After preliminary comparisons, Olson (1974) ventured that Laornis belonged in the suborder Lari of the Charadriiformes. Brodkorb (1978:214) listed Laornis under Aves incertae sedis and guessed that it might be related to the Pelecaniformes.
Except for the extreme difference in size, the tibiotarsus of Laornis is in many respects similar to that of Presbyornis (Figure 8), especially in (1) the shape and position of the tubercle proximal to the external condyle; (2) the transverse pit in the intercondylar sulcus; and (3) the broad, shallow intercondylar sulcus as seen in distal view. It differs in a seemingly minor but quite characteristic feature, the large nutrient foramen situated in the groove for M. peroneus brevis (Figure 8c). This is absent in Presbyornis but is present in both of the tibiotarsi from the Cretaceous of New Jersey in which that portion of the bone is preserved (the holotypes of Palaeotringa littoralis and P. vagans), as well as in a tibiotarsus (Science Museum of Minnesota P75.22.25) from the type-locality of Dakotornis cooperi Erickson, 1975, that may be referable to that graculavid-like species. The foramen in the peroneus brevis groove may also be found in at least some specimens of Stercorariidae, which is partly what led Olson (1974) to suggest a relationship between Laornis and the Lari. Laornis appears to have been an extremely large member of the "transitional Charadriiformes," though where its relationships may lie within that group cannot be determined.