Re: Holbotia

[fredericus ruhe <fredruhe@xs4all.nl>]

Timothy Williams wrote:

>A few weeks ago I sent a vague and probably not very helpful posting >about
a "new" bird from Mongolia - actually a not-so-new pterosaur >re-classified
as a bird.  This is _Holbotia ponomarenkoi_, from the >Unduruhinskaya
Formation of Mongolia, the same formation as _Ambiortus >dementjevi_.  I've
finally managed to track down some more details.

>The authority on this is:

>Unwin, D.M. (1993), Chapter 40. Aves.  In Benton, M.J. (Ed.). The Fossil 
>Record 2, p.717-738.  Chapman and Hall, NY.

>He writes, in the entry for _Ambiortus dementjevi_: "Further remains >from
the same formation at Holbutu, also in the Bajan-Khongor aimak, >currently
referred to as "_Holbotia ponomarenkoi_" and thought to be a >pterosaur
(Kurochkin, 1991), probably belong in the Ambiortidae, and >possibly to
_Ambiortus_" p.718

>The reference mentioned is:

>Kurochkin, E.N. (1991),  _Protoavis_, _Ambiortus_, and other
>palaeornithological rarities.  Priroda 1991(12): 45-53 [In Russian].

>I've never heard of this journal, nor the paper ever before.  _Holbotia 
>ponomarenkoi_ may be a nomen nudum.

>If anybody out there is able to find out anything more, I'd be very 
>appreviative.


>Tim
>
>

I have two references of Holbotia

1 Evgeny N. Kurochkin, 1994
Synopsis and Evolution of Mesozoic Birds
Journal Für Ornithologie 135: pg. 332:

In this abstract he calles the bird Kholbotiaka:
"Beginning in the 1980's, an explosive discovery of fossil birds occurred
beginning with the new subclass Enantiotnithes and the carinate bird
Ambiortus. The Enantiornithes appear ro be a diverse taxon water, cursorial
and aboreal birds, existing since the Early Cretaceous and including the
Chinese Sinornis and Cathayornis, Mongolian Kholbotiaka, .......

2 Evgeney N. Kurochkin, 1995
Synopsis of Mesozoic Birds and Early Evolution of Class Aves
Archaeopteryx 13: 47-66

Enantiornithes
........ An additional new enantiornithine specimen represented the toothed
jaws, hindlimb, and shoulder girdle is from the Lower Cretaceous
(Valanginian-Hautherivian) of Kholbotu, Central Mongolia. It looks similar
to the described Chinese enantiornithines from the Liaoning Formation.
Unfortunately Unwin (1993) suggested the affinity of the Kholbotu specimen
with Ambiortus known from the neighboring Khurilt-Ulan-Bulak of the same
age. But they have, for example, completely different furculae - sharp
angled with long hypocleidium in the Kholbotu specimen and rounded without
hypocleidium and symphysis in Ambiortus.......


Fred Ruhe