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| Psittacomimus | |
|---|---|
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| Holotype fossil elements ofPsittacomimus | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Passerimorphae |
| Family: | †Psittacopedidae |
| Genus: | †Psittacomimus Mayr & Kitchener,2022 |
| Species: | †P. eos |
| Binomial name | |
| †Psittacomimus eos Mayr & Kitchener, 2022 | |
Psittacomimus (meaning "Psittacus imitator") is an extinct genus ofpsittacopedid bird from theEarly EoceneLondon Clay Formation ofEssex, United Kingdom. The genus contains a single species,P. eos, known from a partial skeleton.[1]
Theholotype specimen,NMS.Z.2021.40.38, was discovered in 1991 by Michael Daniels in layers of theLondon Clay Formation (Walton Member), dated to the earlyYpresian, which is located nearWalton-on-the-Naze in Essex, England. This specimen consists of the skull, the leftquadrate, several vertebrae, the leftcoracoid, a partial left and righthumerus, a partial leftulna, a rightradius, a right and partial leftcarpometacarpus, the pelvis, a partial rightfemur, a righttibiotarsus, a partial left and righttarsometatarsus, and pedalphalanges.[1]
The fossil material, particularly the nearly-complete skull, closely resembles bones of the contemporary relatedParapsittacopes.[1]
A preliminary description of the fossil material was published by German paleontologistGerald Mayr andMichael Daniels in 1998. In 2022, Gerald Mayr and British zoologistAndrew C. KitchenerdescribedPsittacomimus eos, a new genus and species of psittacopedid, based on these fossil remains. Thegeneric name, "Psittacomimus", combines theGreek word "μῖμος" ("mimos"), meaning "imitator", with the name of the extant parrotPsittacus, in reference to the similarity ofPsittacomimus withpsittaciforms. Thespecific name, "eos", references the discovery of the fossils in Eocene-aged sediments. Additional bones discovered at the same locality were also assigned toPsittacomimus as referred specimens.[1]
Mayr and Kitchener (2022) recoveredPsittacomimus within thePsittacopedidae in theirphylogenetic analyses. Their results are shown in thecladogram below:[1]