Description of representatives of the family Phasianidae from Mátraszőlős 3 (Nógrád county, Hungary) by means of recent finds of Badenian age

Abstract

Abstract The article reviews of the Galliformes fo from the Mátraszőlős 3 site in Hungary from the Middle Miocene. A total of 200 bones have so far been recovered from site at Mátraszőlős 3, of which the identification of 95 bones will be discussed in this article, including anatomical differences between species. Within the fossil record, Palaeocryptonix hungaricus (Jánossy 1991) and three species of Palaeortyx have been identify (P. phasianoides Milne-Edwards, 1869, P. gallica Milne-Edwards, 1869 and P. brevipes Milne-Edwards, 1869). Only one bone of P. brevipes was recovered. As the appearance of the members of the family can be traced back to the early Oligocene, while the majority of the species are of Neogene origin, the study contributes to a better understanding of the distribution of extinct pheasant speciesin the Carpathian Basin.