Sarcoramphus Duméril, 1805

Nascimento, Rafael S. & Silveira, Luís Fábio, 2024, Fossil and subfossil birds of Brazil, Zoologia (e 23079) 41, pp. 1-234 : 147-149

Sarcoramphus Duméril

484. Sarcoramphus papa (Linnaeus)

Quaternary – MG

Fig. 27A–H

Cathartes aff. papae [in part] – Lund (in Winge 1887): 32. Gyparchus papa , typicus; Gyparchus papa et aff. ( v. sim .) [”Knogler, der passe til Gyparchus papa ”] – Winge 1887: 14, 32–33.

Vulturides [in part] – Goeldi 1894: 76.

Gypagus papa [in part] – Lambrecht 1933: 744.

Sarcoramphus papa [in part] – Brodkorb 1964: 257. Sarcoramphus papa [ Gyparchus papa ] [in part] – Mones 1986: 83. Sarcoramphus papa [in part] – Cuello 1988: 37.

Sarcoramphus papa [in part] – Nascimento and Silveira 2020: 491.

Winge (1887) reported remains of two individuals from Lapa do Baú. One of them (whose most elements were identified as“ Cathartes aff. papae ” in Lund’s catalog) is represented by the maxilla, jugal arches, tip of the mandible, part of the anterior portion of the sternum, scapula, humerus, ulna, radius, and carpometacarpus. They closely match recent bones of this species, presenting only small variations, of which the most notable is the more robust ulna. Of the other individual, there are only the fragmented remains of the proximal end of the left humerus and the distal half of the right tibiotarsus, slightly larger than in recent bones, where the humerus also presents some variations, especially in the much thicker head.

Gypagus papa – Lydekker 1891: 34.

Sarcoramphus papa [in part] – Nascimento and Silveira 2020: 491.

Lydekker (1891) reported the proximal end of a left ulna (NHMUK PV OR 18887), indistinguishable from those of recent skeletons. It came from the Lagoa Santa region and was acquired by the British Museum (Natural History) in 1848 as part of the Claussen Collection.