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The First Fossil Tody (Aves: Todidae) from Cuba

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Abstract

Todies (Aves: Todidae)—endemic to the Greater Antilles and one of the most characteristic components of the modern fauna of Cuba—have not yet been represented in the island’s fossil record. This article describes the first fossil find of a representative of this family in Cuba. A coracoid from the Upper Pleistocene of the cave El Abrón (Pinar-del-Río province) in general morphology and size is similar to that of the modern Cuban Tody Todus multicolor, but differs in structural details and thus can represent a distinct species. The distinctiveness of the Late Pleistocene tody from Cuba may also indicate an increased morphological variability of todies, which in most cases is not typical for birds.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank E. Pérez Lorenzo, J.M. Pajon, and R. Rojas Consuegra (Havana) for discussion and access to collections (for the senior author), E.V. Syromyatnikova (PIN RAS) for assistance with laboratory work and map preparation, as well as reviewers A.V. Panteleyev and A.B. Savinetsky.

Funding

The present study was funded by RFBR (Russian Foundation for Basic Research) and CITMA (Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente) under the research project no. 18-54-34004 (“Late Quaternary Cuban vertebrates: relictual faunas on the eve of the Holocene extinction”).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Borissiak Paleontological institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, 117647, Moscow, Russia

    N. V. Zelenkov

  2. Museo National de Historia Natural de Cuba, La Havana, Cuba

    S. F. Gonzalez

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  1. N. V. Zelenkov
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  2. S. F. Gonzalez
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Correspondence to N. V. Zelenkov or S. F. Gonzalez.

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Zelenkov, N.V., Gonzalez, S.F. The First Fossil Tody (Aves: Todidae) from Cuba. Paleontol. J. 54, 414–419 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030120040164

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030120040164

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