#miocorvus

Miocorvus larteti, the oldest known corvid from miocene europe

By Ripley Cook 

Etymology: Miocene Raven

First Described By: Milne-Edwards, 1871

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Australaves, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Passeri, Euoscines, Corvides, Corvoidea, Corvidae

Status: Extinct

Time and Place: Between 13.7 and 3.2 million years ago, in the Serravallian to the Piacenzian ages of the Miocene through the Pliocene 

Miocorvus is known from the Sansan, Tasad, Credinta, Polgárdi 4, and Csarnóta 1 sites in France, Romania, and Hungary 

Physical Description: Miocorvus was a small perching bird and probably the earliest representation known of a Corvid - the group of birds including jays, magpies, nutcrackers, and crows. Being the earliest member, and only known from certain bone scraps, it is difficult to tell what sort of Corvid it was - but it is probably just a general member of the group, as this is literally when they appear to have diverged from other songbirds. It was a fairly slender bird in terms of its feet, so it’s unlikely that it had the same robust foot morphology of the large crows and ravens. In terms of size, it was similar in size to the Azure-Winged Magpie, so probably no longer than 35 centimeters in length.

Diet: Like other Corvids, Miocorvus probably fed on a wide variety of things, being an intelligent opportunist.

Behavior: Little is known about the behavior of Miocorvus, though it is reasonable to suppose it would have behaved much as living corvids do. As such, it would have been a tree-dwelling opportunist, finding food wherever it could and seeking it out from the oddest of places. It doesn’t seem likely it would have used tools, as that is not a universal behavior of corvids, but it is possible. It probably lived in small family groups or flocks, rather than large flocks, and it may have even been a loner. It probably took care of its young. Miocorvus would definitely have been something of a problem solver, like its modern relatives. 

By José Carlos Cortés 

Ecosystem: Europe during the Neogene was vastly different from its rainforest days of the Paleogene, though of course many forests were still present. This was a land of deciduous forest, rather than coniferous, though some conifers were of course still present. Rivers, ponds, and streams flooded the land. Grasslands did not spread into the continent, and indeed, no fossil remains of grass are known from Europe at this time at all, so Miocorvus spent its time among the trees. Other birds were plentiful here, and included diving ducks, the duck Mionetta, owls, shorebirds, other songbirds, more ducks, falcons, ratites, chickens, relatives of the living Shoebill, storks, loons, and rails. This was a world that resembled - but was still a ways off - from our own, and it resembled it accordingl.

Other: Miocorvus is the earliest known example of a Corvid, allowing us to place the divergence of this unique group of birds at sometime in the middle to early Miocene; and, indeed, Miocorvus looks vaguely like what we’d expect a general corvid/ancestral corvid to look like. Beyond that, however, we know little about the origin or push for diversification for this group.

~ By Meig Dickson

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