| Mopsitta Temporal range:Lower Eocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Genus: | †Mopsitta Waterhouseet al. 2008 |
| Species: | †M. tanta |
| Binomial name | |
| †Mopsitta tanta Waterhouseet al. 2008 | |
Mopsitta tanta is an extinctbird ofuncertain taxonomic position from theEarly Eocene ofDenmark; its remains were recovered from theFur Formation. So far, theholotype and only known specimen is a singlehumerus bone of rather large size. Although the phylogenetic position of genus is unclear, it was initially presumed to be phylogenetically closer to RecentPsittacidae than to other knownPalaeogene psittaciforms and may, therefore, represent the oldest knowncrown-group parrot.[1]
However, further examination subsequently pointed out that the fossil lacks clear psittaciform (let alone psittacid)apomorphies. Following the discovery that the fossilibis genusRhynchaeites also occurred in the Fur Formation, it was hypothesized that theM. tanta humerus actually belongs in that genus, being a better match (except in size) to the knownRhynchaeites remains than to any psittaciform fossil hitherto found.[2]
The new species has been nicknamed the Danish Blue Parrot, or the Norwegian Blue, in honor of theMonty Python “dead parrot” skit whereMichael Palin claimed that a newly purchased “Norwegian Blue Parrot” was not “bleedin’ demised” as his disgruntled customer asserted, but was simply “shagged out following a prolonged squawk.”
https://grrlscientist.medium.com/monty-pythons-dead-parrot-discovered-efbdb2a8ff47
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