The earliest recorded fossil pelican, recovered from the late Eocene of Wadi Al-Hitan, Egypt

ABSTRACT

The Paleogene record of pelicans (Pelecanidae) is represented at present by a single early Oligocene specimen from southeastern France. Here we describe a new pelecanid from the early Priabonian portion of the Birket Qarun Formation within the Wadi Al-Hitan World Heritage Site in Egypt. This specimen, a nearly complete right tibiotarsus, is the first definitive pelecanid recovered from Eocene strata. The tibiotarsus is remarkably similar to those of known Pelecanus species, but sufficiently different to warrant designation as the new genus and species Eopelecanus aegyptiacus. This represents the oldest pelican described to date and extends the pelecanid fossil record by ca. 6 million years.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank M. T. Al Hennawy, Manager, Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, for access to the Wadi Al Hitan Protected Area and for encouragement of this research. I. Zalmout helped in all phases of fieldwork. Research in Egypt was sponsored by the Egyptian Geological Museum, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority, the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF OISE0513544, EAR-0920972), and the National Geographic Society (NGS 7226-04). This paper grew out of a final project for an “Evolution of Vertebrates” course at the University of Michigan. We thank W. Sanders for preparation of the specimen. B. Miljour created the halftone figure of the holotypic specimen of E. aegyptiacus used in this study. J. Hinshaw provided access to and loans of comparative skeletal elements within the Division of Birds collection at the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. C. Sagne kindly provided information and measurements for Miopelecanus and Protopelicanus specimens at the MNHN. We are grateful to P. Sweet for allowing last-minute access to the osteological collections within the Ornithology Department at the American Museum of Natural History and to P. Unitt for access to the Birds and Mammals Department at the San Diego Natural History Museum. We thank P. Horsley for assisting in the identification of the holotypic specimen of E. aegyptiacus. We thank K. Rosenbach, T. Abdul Kareem, K. Vélez Rosado, and two anonymous reviewers for comments that greatly improved this manuscript.