Gallinuloides Eastman, 1900

Mayr, Gerald & Weidig, Ilka, 2004, The Early Eocene bird Gallinuloides wyomingensis - a stem group representative of Galliformes, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 49 (2), pp. 211-217 : 212

Genus Gallinuloides Eastman, 1900

Remarks.—The new specimen of G. wyomingensis confirms the great similarity between this species and the Messel galliform Paraortygoides messelensis , which was already noted by Mayr (2000). In fact, all characters listed by Mayr (2000) in the diagnosis of Paraortygoides are also present in Gallinuloides . Paraortygoides messelensi s has nearly the same size and limb bone proportions as G. wyomingensis . Some differences between the two taxa that were listed by Mayr (2002) are due to a misinterpretation of the poorly preserved holotype of G. wyomingensis , i.e., the purportedly shorter furcula and more protruding processus extensorius on the carpometacarpus of Gallinuloides . The proportionally shorter carina sterni of P. messelensis (Mayr 2000) needs to be verified in additional specimens of this species with a better preserved sternum. Gallinuloides wyomingensis differs from P. messelensis by having: (1) a proportionally longer ulna, which is slightly longer than the humerus in G. wyomingensis but slightly shorter than the humerus in P. messelensis (the ratio ulna:tarsometatarsus is ~ 1.44 in G. wyomingensis and ~ 1.34 in P. messelensis ); (2) a proportionally longer phalanx distalis digiti majoris which is longer than the phalanx proximalis digiti majoris in Gallinuloides , but only as long as this phalanx in Paraortygoides ; and (3) proportionally longer anterior toes (third toe almost as long as tarsometatarsus in G. wyomingensis but distinctly shorter than tarsometatarsus in P. messelensis ); and (4) claw of the third toe relatively longer and narrower.