Manu antiquus
Temporal range: Oligocene
Anterior view of the holotype furcula
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
incertae sedis
Family:
incertae familiae
Genus:
Manu

Species:
M. antiquus
Binomial name
Manu antiquus
Marples, 1946

Manu antiquus is a species of extinct bird of uncertain affinities from the Oligocene of New Zealand. It was described by Brian Marples in 1946 from fossil material (part of a furcula) found near Duntroon, north Otago, in the South Island. Marples suggested that it might be an early albatross; subsequent researchers have speculated that it could be a pelagornithid; however, its affinities remain uncertain. The genus name Manu is Māori for "bird"; the specific epithet antiquus is Latin for "old" or "ancient".[2][3]

References

  1. ^ Marples, B.J. (1946). "Notes on some neognathous bird bones from the Early Tertiary of New Zealand". Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 76 (2): 132–134.
  2. ^ Gill, B.J.; Bell, B.D.; Chambers, G.K.; Medway, D.G.; Palma, R.L.; Scofield, R.P.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Worthy, T.H. (2010). Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica (PDF) (Fourth ed.). Wellington: Te PaPa Press in association with the Ornithological Society of New Zealand. p. 333. ISBN 978-1-877385-59-9.
  3. ^ Miskelly, C.M. (2013). "Bird of unknown affinities". New Zealand Birds Online. Retrieved 26 May 2014.


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