Meleagris californica (Miller, 1909)

California(n) turkey

Taxonomy & Nomenclature

Synonym/s: Pavo californicus Miller, 1909 (original combination); Parapavo californicus (Miller, 1909); Meleagris californicus (Miller, 1909)

Conservation Status

Extinct

Last record: c. 8,000 BC

Distribution

USA

Biology & Ecology

Hypodigm

Media

References

Original scientific description:

Miller, Loye H. (1909). Pavo californicus, a fossil peacock from the Quaternary asphalt beds of Rancho La Brea. University of California Publications, Bulletin of the Department of Geology 5(19): 285-289.

Other references:

Bocheński, Zbigniew M. and Campbell, Kenneth E. Jnr. (2004a?). The extinct California turkey, Meleagris californica. Interim Final Report on the Rancho La Brea Collection, California, 9 pp.

Bocheński, Zbigniew M. and Campbell, Kenneth E. Jnr. (2004b). The extinct California turkey from Rancho La Brea versus modern species: osteological evidence for relationships within the genus Meleagris, pp. 6. In: Buffetaut, Eric and Loeuff, Jean Le (eds.). Sixth International Meeting of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution, 28 September-3 October, 2004, Quillan, France. 70 pp.

Bocheński, Zbigniew M. and Campbell, Kenneth E. Jnr. (2006). The extinct California Turkey, Meleagris californica, from Rancho La Brea: Comparative osteology and systematics. Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 509: 1-92.

Brodkorb, Pierce. (1964). Notes on fossil turkeys. Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences 27(3): 223-229.

Guthrie, D. A. (2009). An updated catalogue of the birds from the Carpinteria Asphalt, Pleistocene of California. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 108(2): 52-62.

Howard, H. (1927). A review of the fossil bird, Parapavo californicus (Miller), from the Pleistocene asphalt beds of Rancho La Brea. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 17(1): 1-56.

Howard, H. (1928). The beak of Parapavo californicus (Miller). Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 27(3): 90-91.

Howard, H. (1930). A census of the Pleistocene birds of Rancho La Brea from the collections of the Los Angeles Museum. Condor 32(2): 81-88, 3 text figs.

Howard, H. (1936). A new record for Parapavo californicus (Miller). Condor 38(6): 249-250.

Howard, H. (1945). Observations on young tarsometatarsi of the fossil turkey Parapavo californicus (Miller). The Auk 62: 596-603.

Jefferson, G. T. (1991). A catalogue of Late Quaternary vertebrates from California. Part one; nonmarine lower vertebrate and avian taxa. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Technical Reports 5:1-60.

Rea, A. (1980). Late Pleistocene and Holocene turkeys in the Southwest. Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 330: 209-224.

Sayol, Ferran, Steinbauer, Manuel J., Blackburn, Tim M., Antonelli, Alexandre and Faurby, Søren. (2020). Anthropogenic extinctions conceal widespread evolution of flightlessness in birds. Science Advances 6(49): eabb6095. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abb6095 [Supplementary Material (Data File S1)]

Springer, K., Scott, E., Sagebiel, C. and Murray, L. K. (2009). The Diamond Valley Lake local fauna: Late Pleistocene vertebrates from inland southern California. Pp. 217-235, in Papers on geology, vertebrate paleontology, and biostratigraphy in honor of Michael O. Woodburne (L. G. Albright, III, ed.). Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 65, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Stock, Chester and Harris, J. M. (1992). Rancho la Brea: A record of Pleistocene life in California. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Science Series no. 37, 7th ed.:i-xiv + 1-113.

Sushkin, P. P. (1928). On the affinities of [i]Parapavo californicus[/i] (Loye Miller). Ibis, 12th Series 4(1): 135-138.

Tyrberg, Tommy. (2008). The Late Pleistocene Continental Avian extinction – an evaluation of the fossil evidence. Oryctos 7: 249-269.

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