Large condor (Aves, Cathartidae) from the Late Pleistocene of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

Abstract

The fossil record of condors in South America is relatively extensive. However, fossil specimens from the latePleistocene of Argentina are still very scarce. Here, we describe fragmentary remains of a large sizedcathartid of the condor lineage. The new specimen is represented by an incomplete ulna, radius andmetacarpal belonging to the Lujanian (Late Pleistocene) of San Pedro locality, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Itslarge size (it is among the largest cathartids reported up to the date) and some anatomical details indicatethat it belongs to a previously unrecognised taxon. The new specimen reinforces previous proposalsindicating a high diversification of condors at South American lowlands, and indicates that thePleistocene history of the clade is far from being satisfactorily known. The extinction of giant scavengerbirds in South America may be not only related to the extinction of their food resources (i.e., megafauna) butalso to ecological constraints that characterise large-sized birds.