Nelepsittacus

Nelepsittacus Temporal range: Early Miocene PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Family:	Strigopidae
Genus:	†Nelepsittacus Worthy, Tennyson, Scoffeld 2011
Species
N. daphneleeae N. donmertoni N. minimus N. sp.

Nelepsittacus is a genus of extinct New Zealand parrots that is closely related to the genus Nestor (the living kākā and kea). It consists of four species, of which three have been named so far, and all are long extinct. The species are all known from the early Miocene Saint Bathans Fauna from the Lower Bannockburn Formation in Otago in New Zealand. Features in their skeletons, namely the coracoid, humerus, tibiotarsus, and tarsometatarsus, that they share only with the Nestor parrots link them to that genus.^[1][2]

The genus is named for the Greek mythological figure Neleus who was the father of Nestor, reflecting the relationship between the genus and the extant Nestor. The type species is N. minimus, the smallest of the species so far recovered. Nelepsittacus donmertoni is the next-smallest species, and its bones indicate it was about the same size as the crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans) of eastern Australia. It was named in honour of the late Don Merton, who was instrumental in saving the kakapo. Bigger still is the next species, N. daphneleeae, about a quarter larger again than N. donmertoni. The humerus and ulna of this parrot suggest it was a little bigger than the Australian king parrot (Alisterus scapularis), but a little smaller than a galah (Eolophus roseicapillus). The last species, so far undescribed and known only from a left scapula and humerus, is around the same size as a kea (Nestor notabilis).^[1]

Flora from the Saint Bathans fauna fossil beds indicate these parrots were found in a subtropical rainforest habitat. Following the early to mid Miocene, there was a drop in temperature, which led to a loss of local flora and fauna.^[1]

References