| Yarquen Temporal range: Mid Miocene (Langhian) | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | †Yarquen Tambussi, Degrange & Ruiz, 2023 |
| Species: | †Y. dolgopolae |
| Binomial name | |
| †Yarquen dolgopolae Tambussi, Degrange & Ruiz, 2023 | |
Yarquen is an extinct genus of owls which lived in what is now Argentina in the middle Miocene. It contains a single species, Yarquen dolgopolae. It is the oldest owl to have been formally described from South America.[1]
Discovery and naming
The known remains of Yarquen were discovered in the Collón Curá Formation of Río Negro Province, Argentina. The holotype, MLP 92-V-10-86, includes phalanges and the distal end of the right humerus.[1]
The generic name is derived from the Araucanian word for 'owl', which is masculine in gender. The specific name honors Mathilde Dolgopol de Sáez, the first female paleontologist from Argentina.[1]
Description
Yarquen was a large owl, its humerus being comparable in size to that of the extant short-eared owl, which it thought to be about the size of. The ungual phalanx of digit 1 has lateral grooves on both sides and is strongly curved. Like other strigid owls, it was presumably a nocturnal or crepuscular predator.[1]