Oscaravis olsoni ( Arredondo & Arredondo, 2002b )

Suárez, William, 2020, The fossil avifauna of the tar seeps Las Breas de San Felipe, Matanzas, Cuba, Zootaxa 4780 (1), pp. 1-53 : 10-12

† Oscaravis olsoni ( Arredondo & Arredondo, 2002b)

Cuban Teratorn; Teratorno Cubano

( Figure 5 : A–F)

Teratornis olsoni Arredondo & Arredondo, 2002b , Poeyana, no. 470–475 [for 1999], p.16.

Referred material. San Felipe I: Right cuneiform, MNHNCu 75.4663; distal half of fragmentary left tibiotarsus, MNHNCu 75.4659; distal end of right tibiotarsus without anterior portions of the external condyle, MNHNCu 75.4660; distal end of right tibiotarsus without condyles, MNHNCu 75.4858; distal end of right tarsometatarsus, MNHNCu 75.4662. San Felipe II: Distal end of fragmentary left femur, MNHNCu 75.4857; distal end of left tarsometatarsus, MNHNCu 75.4661.

Description. Cuneiform resembles Teratornis merriami L. Miller, 1909 , in general morphology although it is massive, especially in its ventral ramus, with greater ulnar joint and dorsal ramus connected to the body of the bone at a more open angle than in T. merriami or Aiolornis incredibilis Campbell, Scott & Springer, 1999 (see also Howard 1952). For description of the femur, an element partially known in the deposits under study, see Arredondo & Arredondo (2002b), and Suárez & Olson (2009a). Tibiotarsus ( Fig. 5 A–C) with a broad and expanded shaft at its junction with the condyles, broad tendinal groove and foramen, reduced internal condyle, wide intercondylar fossa (proximad). Tarsometatarsus ( Fig. 5 D–F) with short trochlea metatarsi III, proportionally long trochleae metatarsorum II and IV; relatively wide intertrochlear spaces. For comparisons, measurements, and a more complete description of this material, see Suárez & Olson (2009a).

Comments. The extinct family Teratornithidae was recorded outside continental America as Teratornis sp., by Suárez & Arredondo (1997). Following this record, T. olsoni Arredondo & Arredondo, 2002b , was described from Cuba, based on part of the fossils then known. New material (including specimens treated here), and a first revision of the Cuban Teratorn allowed erection of the genus Oscaravis ( Suárez & Olson 2009a) . Oscaravis olsoni has a larger size compared with Taubatornis campbelli Olson & Alvarenga, 2002 , but is smaller than the remaining taxa described in different genera for the family ( Teratornis L. Miller 1909 , Cathartornis L. Miller 1910 , Argentavis Campbell & Tonni 1980 , Aiolornis Campbell et al. 1999 ; see also Campbell & Stenger 2002). This teratorn provides evidence of the ability of some members of Teratornithidae for overwater dispersal, not dependent on a continuous land bridge for expansion to North America ( Olson & Alvarenga 2002; Suárez & Olson 2009a). Orihuela (2019:53) erroneously stated that in Cuba was “un teratornítido con adaptaciones que indican capacidades nulas o limitadas de vuelo” [a teratornitid with adaptations that indicate no or limited flight capabilities]. In the anatomy of O. olsoni such adaptations do not exist (see Arredondo & Arredondo 2002b; Suárez & Olson 2009a).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Oscaravis olsoni: Left tibiotarsus (MNHNCu 75.4659) in anterior (A), distal (B), and medial (C) views; left tarsometatarsus (MNHNCu 75.4661) in anterior (D) and posterior (E) views; right tarsometatarsus (MNHNCu 75.4662) in distal view (F). Scale = 2 cm.