Psilopterus (Greek for "bare wing") is an extinct genus of phorusrhacid ("terror bird") from the Middle Oligocene to possibly the Late Pleistocene of Argentina and Uruguay. Compared to other phorusrhacids, members of the genus are both relatively gracile and diminutive, and include the smallest known species of terror bird: with the head raised P. bachmanni was in height and weighed about , while the largest members of the genus were only about . The birds resemble the modern cariama (Cariama cristata), except with a heavier build and considerably smaller wings. The strong morphological similarity between the claws of the predatory cariama and Psilopterus, both of which are sharp, curved, and laterally compressed, may indicate they were used to strike prey. In contrast to the other, larger terror birds, Tonni and Tambussi also suggested Psilopterus could use their claws to climb trees, and could even fly, but this has been rejected in more recent literature. Fossil finds in Uruguay indicate the genus may have survived until 96,040 ± 6,300 years ago, millions of years after the larger phorusrhacids became extinct.
Description and taxonomy
The most recent systematic revision of Phorusrhacidae placed Psilopterus within the subfamily Psilopterinae, along with the genera Procariama and Paleopsilopterus, and divided Psilopterus into four species.
Psilopterus bachmanni
Psilopterus bachmanni (Moreno & Mercerat, 1891) is the smallest species of phorusrhacid, rivaled only by P. affinis. The species (and genera) is defined by the upper portion of a fused ankle and leg bone (the lectotype MLP-168 is a tarsometatarsus). Other material assigned the species includes additional leg bones that are probably from the same bird, and an almost complete skeleton (PUM-15.904) The material is from several sites in the Santa Cruz Formation in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina dating to the Middle Miocene (Santacrucian). The most important diagnostic characteristics are a low skull and upper jaw (or maxilla; similar to the mesembriornithine phorusrhacids) and the extreme slant of the front edge of the hole just before the eye (rostal portion of the antorbital fenestra), though there are also differences in the rest of the skeleton.
Synonyms: Psilopterus bachmanni (Moreno & Mercerat, 1891) Patagornis bachmanni Moreno & Mercerat, 1891 Psilopterus communis Moreno & Mercerat, 1891 Psilopterus intermedius Moreno & Mercerat, 1891 Phororhacos delicatus Amegino, 1891 Brodkorb considered Psilopterus minutus Amerghino, 1981 a separate species, but the incomplete foot bone (tarsometatarsus) is indistinguishable from P. bachmanni.
Psilopterus lemoinei
Psilopterus lemoinei (Moreno & Mercerat, 1891) is contemporaneous with P. bachmanni and likely filled a very similar ecological niche, though P. lemoinei is slightly larger, with an estimated weigh approaching . The species is defined by part of a lower leg bone (the lectotype, MLP-162, is the distal end of a tibiotarsus), but a wide variety of material has been referred to the taxon. This material has been found at a number of sites in the Monte León and Santa Cruz Formations in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina that are dated to the Middle Miocene (Santacrucian). Diagnostic characteristics include a higher skull and upper jaw (maxilla), and the front portion of the hole in front of the eyes (rostral edge of the antorbital fenestra) is less slanted. Additional differences in the remainder of the skeleton are noted in Sinclair and Farr (1932). A number of discrepancies between various specimens have been attributed to differences in age or sex, but material currently assigned to P. lemonei and P. bachmanni may be reclassified at the species level if reexamined in depth.
Synonyms: Patagornis lemoinei Moreno & Mercerat, 1891 Psilopterus australis Moreno & Mercerat, 1891 Pelecyornis tubulatus Ameghino, 1895 (synonym of Psilopterus australis) Phororhacos modicus Ameghino, 1895 Staphylornis gallardoi Mercerat, 1897 (possible synonym of Psilopterus australis) Staphylornis erythacus Mercerat, 1897 (possible synonym of Psilopterus australis) Pelecyornis tenuirostris Sinclair & Farr, 1932 (synonym of Psilopterus australis)