| Allgoviachen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype leg bones | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Superfamily: | Anatoidea |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Genus: | †Allgoviachen Mayr, Lechner &Böhme,2022 |
| Species: | †A. tortonica |
| Binomial name | |
| †Allgoviachen tortonica Mayr, Lechner & Böhme, 2022 | |
Allgoviachen (meaning "Allgäugoose") is an extinct genus ofanatid bird from theLate Miocene (Tortonian)Hammerschmiede clay pits ofBavaria,Germany. The genus contains a single species,A. tortonica, known from bones belonging to the left leg.[1]
TheAllgoviachenholotype specimen,SNSB-BSPG 2020 XCIV 1058, was discovered in the Hammerschmiedeclay pits of theAllgäu region, nearPforzen,Bavaria,Germany. This specimen consists of the distalfemur,tibiotarsus,tarsometatarsus, and mostpedal phalanges of the left leg, found in articulation. Specimen GPIT/AV/00143, an incomplete distal left tarsometatarsus, was also assigned toAllgoviachen.[1]
In 2022,Gerald Mayr, Thomas Lechner, andMadelaine BöhmedescribedAllgoviachen tortonica, a new genus and species of antatid, based on these fossil remains. Thegeneric name,Allgoviachen, combines theLatin "Allgäu", a reference to thetype locality, with theGreek "chen," meaning "goose". Thespecific name, "tortonica", refers to theTortonian age of the type specimen.[1]
The describing authors concluded thatAllgoviachen would have had a body size comparable to theextantanserineAnser indicus(Bar-headed goose) andanatineAlopochen aegyptiaca (Egyptian goose), with an estimated body mass of about 2 kilograms (4.4 lb).[1]
