Proardea

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Proardea
Fossil range: Late Eocene? - Late Oligocene

Extinct (fossil)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Ciconiiformes
Family:	Ardeidae
Genus:	Proardea Lambrecht, 1933
Species:	P. amissa

Binomial name

Proardea amissa
(Milne-Edwards, 1892)

Synonyms

Ardea amissa
Milne-Edwards, 1892
Egretta amissa
Mlíkovský & Švec 1989
and see article text

Proardea is an extinct genus of heron, containing a single species, Proardea amissa ("Lost Proto-heron"). It stood about 70 cm (2 ft 4 in) tall and was very similar to a modern heron in shape. The species is known from rather fragmentary fossils in the area of Quercy, France; dated remains are from Pech Desse, a Late Oligocene locality, but the original fossil, a single right tarsometatarsus (MNHN QU-15720), may have come from deposits as early as Late Eocene in age.

Proardea was apparently closely related to the true herons and egrets (Ardeinae). As these genera are only known from the Miocene onwards, Proardea possibly was a direct ancestor of today's herons and/or egrets. However, the Miocene genus Proardeola is closely related, or perhaps even synonymous, with Proardea; the former's single species Proardeola walkeri may thus be Proardea walkeri or even identical with P. amissa. The bird described as Ardea aurelianensis may also be identical with P. amissa, which would in that case become known as Proardeola aurelianensis. Supposed other species of Proardea, P. similis and P. perplexa, are synonyms of the ibis Geronticus perplexus and the phasianid Miogallus altus, respectively (Mlíkovský, 2002).

[edit] References

Lambrecht, Kálmán (1933): [Genus Proardea] In: Handbuch der Palaeornithologie: 311. Gebrüder Bornträger, Berlin.

Milne-Edwards, Alphonse (1892): Sur les oiseaux fossiles des dépots éocènes de phosphate de chaux du Sud de la France. In: Sclater, P.L. (ed.), Comptes Rendus du Second Congrès Ornithologique International: 60-80. Budapest.