Phoenicopterus floridanus

Fossil material of Phoenicopterus floridanus was first described in 1953 by Pierce Brodkorb based on material discovered in the phosphate deposits of southern Florida, specifically the Bone Valley Formation in Polk County. The holotype, the distal portion of a tibiotarsus, was discovered the year prior by George C. Elmore. In the type description Brodkorb also mentions the shaft of a tibiotarsus as well as the distal ends of two tarsometatarsi belonging to differently sized individuals, all collected from the same locality as the holotype. These remains marked the first time flamingo fossils had been discovered in the eastern United States, as all previously named North American fossil flamingos stemmed from the west. In 2001, additional material including cervical vertebrae were tentatively assigned to Phoenicopterus floridanus by Olson and Rasmussen. This material was discovered in the Yorktown Formation in North Carolina. ==Description==

Brodkorb described Phoenicopterus floridanus' tibiotarsus as similar to modern Phoenicopterus species, but broader and deeper and with wider intercondylar fossa. The internal condyle is described as more deeply excavated and the supratendinal bridge, which is situated above the condyles, is said to be more oblique. However Brodkorb also mentions that this element is somewhat broken in the type specimen. According to Brodkorb, the state of the supratendinal bridge and the deeply excavated condyles form an intermediate condition between members of the Palaelodidae and the more recent Phoenicopterus. The back of the bone is more compressed with a narrower intercondylar sulcus. The groove that would house the peroneus medius, one of the fibularis muscles, runs almost parallel to the shaft of the bone at its upper end. The species was also compared to the previously described fossil flamingos of North America. P. floridanus was noted as being significantly larger than Phoenicopterus stocki from Pliocene Mexico and for having wider anterior intercondylar fossa and smaller condyles than the Pleistocene Phoenicopterus copei. The later species also had a generally broader distal tibiotarsus. The condition of the intercondylar fossa that differentiates P. floridensis from P. copei also serves to set the species apart from Harrisonavis of Oligocene Europe. There are some differences between Phoenicopterus floridanus from Florida and the Phoenicopterus cf. floridanus material mentioned by Olson and Rasmussen from North Carolina. Namely, the two differ in regards to the supratendinal bridge and the tendinal groove. The North Carolina material also appears to be larger than the average of the Florida material, but still smaller than the largest Bone Valley specimen. ==References==