Molothrus resinosus
| Molothrus resinosus Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Icteridae |
| Genus: | Molothrus |
| Species: | †M. resinosus
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| Binomial name | |
| †Molothrus resinosus Steadman & Oswald, 2020
| |
Molothrus resinosus is an extinct species of bird in the family Icteridae. Its fossils are from the late Pleistocene Talara Tar Seeps of northwestern Peru.
The species name resinosus is derived from Latin and means "full of resin", referring to the tar seeps where it was discovered.
Molothrus resinosus was a medium-large-sized species of cowbird, much smaller than the giant cowbird but substantially larger than the shiny cowbird. Some extant icterids live alongside large grazing mammals, foraging near them; likewise, the Talara cowbird may have been closely associated with Pleistocene megafauna, and the demise of the latter may have led to the bird's extinction.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ Steadman, David W.; Oswald, Jessica A. (2020-07-22). "New species of troupial (Icterus) and cowbird (Molothrus) from ice-age Peru". The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 132 (1): 91. doi:10.1676/1559-4491-132.1.91. ISSN 1559-4491.
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