A New Species Of Owl Of The Genus Bubo From The Pleistocene Of Cuba

9 Pages·1994·2.4 MB·English

by  O Arredondo

PROC. BIOL. SOC. WASH.
107(3), 1994, pp. 436-444
A NEW SPECIES OF OWL OF THE GENUS BUBO
FROM THE PLEISTOCENE OF CUBA
(AVES: STRIGIFORMES)
Oscar Arredondo and Storrs L. Olson
Abstract.—Bubo osvaldoi, new species, is described from three bones from
aPleistocenecavedepositintheSierradeGaleras,PinardelRio,westernCuba,
with two additional paratypes referred from Baire in the province ofSantiago
deCuba, inthe eastern part ofthe island. The speciesis the onlyrepresentative
ofthe genus Bubo and the tribe Bubonini in the Antilles and in size was larger
than any living owl.
Resumen.—Se describe una especie nueva de buho, Bubo osvaldoi, de tres
huesos del Pleistoceno hallados en una cueva de la Sierra de Galeras, en Pinar
del Rio, Cuba occidental, yde otrosdoshuesosparatiposprocedentesde Baire,
provincia de Santiago de Cuba, en el oriente de la isla. La especie es el unico
miembro del genero Bubo y de la tribu Bubonini conocido hasta ahora en las
Antillasyeramayorquecualquieradelasformasconocidasdebuhosvivientes.
The Quaternary avifauna ofCuba is re- western end of Cuba, along with a manu-
markable for the number and size of the script describing them as a new species of
extinctowlsthathavebeendiscoveredthere Bubo. This called to mind two enigmatic
(summarized by Arredondo 1976, 1982). bones that Olson had studied some years
These include the truly enormous strigids previouslythatcamefromtheformerprov-
of the endemic genus Ornimegalonyx, of ince ofOriente, at the opposite end ofthe
which four species have been named (Ar- island. These had originally been sent in
redondo 1982),andtwospeciesofbamowls January 1947 byAbelardo Moreno, then of
{Tyto) that farexceed in size anyliving spe- the Museo Poey, to AlexanderWetmore, at
cies of Tytonidae. Pulsatrix arredondoi the Smithsonian Institution. Wetmore had
(Brodkorb 1969) is slightly smaller than its had a drawing made ofthese bones and left
NeotropicalrelativeP.perspicillata, butbe- afolderofcorrespondenceconcerningthem,
longs to a genus otherwise unknown in the but they remained unpublished. We have
Antilles. Itwaspreviouslyknownonlyfrom concludedthatthese probablybelongto the
the type locality, Cueva Paredones in Ha- same species as represented by the bones
bana Province, but Arredondo has recently from Pinar del Rio, which cannot be re-
identified a tarsometatarsus ofP. arredon- ferred to any known species of owl, living
doi from Cueva Calero in Matanzas Prov- or fossil.
ince.
Here we present evidence ofyet another
Class Aves Linnaeus, 1758
very large extinct Cuban owl, amidst what
Order Strigiformes Wagler, 1830
couldalreadyhavebeenregardedasapleth-
Family Strigidae Vigors, 1825
ora. Our collaboration on this began when
Arredondo forwarded for evaluation three The fossil material treated below may be
fossil specimens from Pinar del Rio, at the distinguished from Tyto (Tytonidae) by the
VOLUME 107, NUMBER 3 437
Fig. 1. Tarsometatarsi ofstrigid owls. A, anterior view of Ornimegalonyx oteroi (MNHN unnumbered,
lackingdistalend),showingtheimmensesizecomparedtootherwiseverylargeowls;B,C,D,posterior,anterior,
and distal views ofBubo osvaldoi, new species, holotype (MNHNCu-27, coated with ammonium chloride to
enhancedetail); E, anteriorviewofB. bubo(USNM 610384) female, largestavailablespecimen ofthe species.
Figuresthree-fourthsnatural size.
proportionately short, robust tarsometatar- gigantic Cuban owls ofthe genus Ornime-
sus, the more anteroposteriorly expanded galonyx, in which the proportions of the
external condyle ofthe femur, and the shal- tarsometatarsus are very different (Fig. 1).
lower brachial depression ofthe humerus. They are clearly referable to the group of
largest strigid owls (Tribe Bubonini) that
includes the genera Bubo, Nyctea, Ketupa,
Genus Bubo Dumeril, 806
1 and Scotopelia, concerning which Ford
The Cuban fossils, although from a very (1967:82) wrote: "Each ofthese genera has
large owl, are nonetheless dwarfed by the some osteological characteristics by which
438 PROCEEDINGSOFTHEBIOLOGICALSOCIETYOFWASHINGTON
it can be separated, but the diJSerences are Measurementsofholotype(mm).—Length
notgreatanditisquestionableastowhether from distalend ofattachment ofM. tibialis
or not they actually warrant separation." anticus to trochleae, 63.3; least width of
Wewouldechothesesentiments,aswelike- shaft, 11.9; depth ofshaft at midpoint, 7.8;
wise find little in the osteology of at least distal width across trochleae, 24.8; depths
Nyctea or Ketupa that would merit sepa- ofinner, middle, and outertrochleae, 12.1,
ratingthemfromBubo(wedidnotexamine 9.8, 14.9.
skeletons ofScotopelia). Ketupa and Scoto- Topotypical paratypes.—Corax>^e\t right
pelia are Asian and African genera, respec- femur, lacking the internal condyle and
MNHNCu
tively, whose traditional generic characters abraded about the trochanter,
involve external aspects ofthe feet that are 27.3 (Fig. 2B). Shaftoflefttarsometatarsus,
adaptations for fishing. Nyctea is hardly lackingtheproximalportionandthedigital
more than a Bubo adapted to life in Arctic trochleae, MNHNCu-27.2. These speci-
tundra. On geographical grounds alone. mens and the holotype appear to be very
Bubo is the only genus of Bubonini likely heavilymineralizedandareblackishincol-
to have colonized Cuba, and we find noth- or, mottled with orangish brown. The par-
ing in the Cuban fossils to suggest a closer atypicaltarsometatarsusisfromanindivid-
relationshipto any ofthe otherowls ofthat ual slightly larger than represented by the
tribe than to Bubo. In Strix nebulosa, the holotype and the specimen is highly pol-
largest New World member ofthe Strigini, ished and evidently water worn.
the femurandhumerasare proportionately Additionalparatypes.—Rightfemurlack-
much more elongate and gracile, the wing inginternalcondyle,anteriorsurfaceofhead,
oftheinnertrochleaislesspronounced, and and a piece out ofthe posterior face ofthe
theattachmentofM.tibialisanticusismore shaft,USNM447022(Figs. 2A, 3A-C).Left
distinctandraisedthanintheCubanfossils, humerus lacking proximal end and the ex-
which conform with Bubo in all these re- ternalpartofthedistalarticulation, USNM
spects. 447023 (Figs. 3D, 4B). The only informa-
tion we have concerningthese specimens is
that they came from a "mine" (perhaps a
Bubo osvaldoi, new species
cavern exposed in roadwork or similar ac-
Figs. 1-4
tivity)inthevicinityofBaire,OrienteProv-
Holotype.—Kight tarsometatarsus of an ince (now in the Provincia de Santiago de
adult lacking the proximal end above the Cuba). They are creamy white in color and
attachment for M. tibialis anticus (Fig. IB, areverylighttothetouch,asthoughlacking
C). Deposited in the Museo Nacional de organic constituents, perhaps through
Historia Natural de Habana (MNHNCu- leaching. The same site is the type locality
27.1). of the sloth Neocnus baireiensis Mayo
Type locality.—Cueva del Mono Fosil, (1980),describedfrommaterialpresumably
southern side ofthe Sierra de Galeras, Cor- collected at the same time as the owl bones
dillera de Guaniguanico, Municipality of andforwhichthereislikewisenomorepre-
Vinales, Province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. cise information.
This is also the type locality of the fossil Measurements ofparatypes (mm).—Tar-
platyrrhine monkey Paralouatta varonai sometatarsus MNHNCu-27.2: least width
(Rivero and Arredondo, 1991). of shaft, 1 1.5; depth of shaft at midpoint,
^^e.—Quaternary, probably Pleistocene, 7.2 (worn). Femur MNHNCu-27.3: length,
at least asjudgedby the mineralization and 101.5; proximal width 22.7; depth ofhead
associated fauna ofthe holotype and topo- 9.4; width and depth ofshaft at midpoint,
types. 9.8 X 9.4; depth through external condyle,
VOLUME 107, NUMBER 3 439
Fig. 2. FemoraofBubo in anteriorview. A, B. osvaldoi, newspecies(USNM 447022); B, B. osvaldoi, new
species(MNHN27.3,coatedwithammoniumchloridetoenhancedetail);C, B. bubo(USNM610384)female,
largestavailablespecimenofthespecies; D, B. bubo(USNM 343007)male; E, B. virginianus(USNM 501314)
female; F, B. virginianus (USNM 555903), male. Size differences between the two femora offi. osvaldoi are
closely comparable to those between sexes in other species ofthe genus. Note the different position ofthe
intermuscularline inB. osvaldoi. Figuresthree-fourthsnaturalsize.
19.0. FemurUSNM 447022: length, 1 12.4; tarsometatarsus much larger. The inter-
proximal width 27.7; depth of head 10.3; muscular line on the anterior face of the
width and depth ofshaft at midpoint, 11.5 shaft ofthe femur is unique in originating
X 9.9; depththroughexternalcondyle, 21.9. at the distal end of the trochanteric crest
Humerus USNM 447023: length from dis- and running diagonally across the shaft,
tal end of pectoral crest to entepicondyle, whereas in Bubo and other owls examined
99.1; length (diagonal) ofbrachial depres- the line originates at the neck ofthe femur
sion, 17.6. or near the trochanter and runs parallel, or
Etymology.—The species is dedicated to nearly so, to the sides ofthe shaft (Fig. 2).
the discoverer ofthe specimens from Pinar Humerus small relative to the hindlimb.
del Rio, Osvaldo Jimenez, speleologist and Comparative material examined.—Skel-
amateur paleontologist. etons from the collections of the National
Diagnosis.—Largerthananymodemspe- Museum ofNatural History, Smithsonian
cies ofBubonini (Table 1), which includes Institution (USNM) as follows: Bubo bubo
the largest modem owls. Distal foramen of (4 males, 1 female, 1 unsexed, 1 female
440 PROCEEDINGSOFTHEBIOLOGICALSOCIETYOFWASHINGTON
B
Fig. 3. DrawingsofthetwoparatypesofBuboosvaldoi, newspecies,fromBaire,SantiagodeCuba:A,femur
inposteriorview(USNM447022);B,same,anteriorview;C,same,proximalview; D,humerusinpalmarview
(USNM 447023). Natural size.
trunk; Sweden, Greece, and Korea), Bubo and humeri of a female; Kenya and Zim-
virginianus (6 males and 6 females; Penn- babwe), Bubo philippensis (1 female; Lu-
sylvania, District of Columbia, Florida, zon), Bubosumatrana (1 unsexed; Borneo),
Minnesota, NewMexico, Arizona, andCal- Ketupaketupu(1 femaleand 1 femaletrunk;
ifornia),Buboafricanus(2 males, 4 females, Borneo and Java), Ketupa blakistoni (1 un-
and 1 male trunk; Sudan, Tanzania, Zim- sexed; Japan), Ketupa zeylonensis (2 fe-
babwe, andTransvaal), Bubolacteus{\ male males and 1 unsexed; Thailand and un-
VOLUME 107, NUMBER 3 441
Fig. 4. HumeriofBuboinpalmarview. A, B. bubo (USNM 610384)female, largestavailable specimen of
the species; B, B. osvaldoi, new species (USNM 447023); C, B. virginianus (L[SNM 501314), female. Figures
three-fourthsnaturalsize.
knownlocalities), Nycteascandiaca(2 males Chauvire &Weesie (1986), mostoftheoth-
and 2 females; Alaska, Maryland, and Dis- erfossilspeciesattributedtothegenusBubo
trictofColumbia).Thefollowingspecimens are smaller than B. insularis. According to
ofScotopelia in the American Museum of Brodkorb&Mourer-Chauvire(1984),Bubo
Natural History were measured and ex- Sinclair! L. Miller, based on scanty and
amined for us: S. peli(2 unsexed; Zaire), S. poorly preserved material from Quaternary
bouvieri(1 unsexed; Zaire), S. ussheri (1 fe- cavesitesinCalifornia, fallswithintherange
male; Sierra Leone). of size variation of B. virginianus and is
Comparisonwithotherfossilspecies.—The probably a synonym ofthat species.
only otherextinct insular species ofBubois BuboflorianaeKretzoi, 1958, isbased on
B. insularis from Corsica and Sardinia, a pedal phalanx from the early Pliocene of
which was described as being smaller than Hungarythatprobablyfallswithintherange
B. bubo(Mourer-Chauvire&Weesie 1986), of size variation of Bubo bubo (Janossy
and hence is even smaller than B. osvaldoi. 1977). Bubo bubodavidi(Mourer-Chauvire
As ascertained from the review in Mourer- 1975) was described from the Pleistocene
442 PROCEEDINGSOFTHEBIOLOGICALSOCIETY OFWASHINGTON
Table L—Selected measurements oflarge owls (Strigidae) compared with Bubo osvaldoi, new species. For
numbersofspecimensseeComparativeMaterialExamined.FEM=lengthoffemur.HUM=lengthofhumerus
from distal end of pectoral crest to entepicondyle. TMT 1 = length oftarsometatarsus from distal end of
attachmentofM. tibialis anticusto trochleae. TMT 2 = widthoftarsometatarsusacrosstrochleae.
Species FEM HUM TMT 1 TMT2
Buboosvaldoi 101.5-112.4 99.1 63.3 24.8
Bubobubo 93.5-104.5 97.7-110.7 46.6-50.4 18.9-23.0
Bubo virginianus 75.1-86.1 76.9-89.7 36.5-41.0 16.1-19.2
Buboafricanus 64.5-72.2 69.6-74.6 42.0-52.4 13.1-13.9
Bubolacteus 91.1 104.9-106.4 46.4 23.1
Bubophilippensis 77.2 85.0 43.0 20.8
Bubosumatrana 60.6 75.3 28.2 17.5
Ketupa ketupu 75.9-78.9 81.8 51.1 15.9
Ketupa blakistoni 102.7 116.7 48.7 21.2
Ketupa zeylonensis 82.0-97.1 87.3-104.1 52.4-56.1 16.3-19.9
Nycteascandiaca 83.8-92.6 92.8-102.4 28.3-32.0 17.6-20.2
— —
Scotopeliapeli 92.1-96.2 22.2
— —
Scotopelia bouvieri 65.3 13.2
— —
Scotopelia ussheri 73.8 14.2
ofFrance as a larger temporal form ofthe Homed Owl {Bubo virginianus), which has
modem species, although there is overlap, probably the greatest latitudinal breeding
particularly with the largest specimen of rangeofanybirdintheworld, nestingfrom
Bubobubothatweexamined,whichexceeds northern Canada and Alaska to Tierra del
any ofthose reported by Mourer-Chauvire Fuego. Itdoesnot occurin the West Indies,
(1975). Therewereotherwisenoqualitative however, and Bubo osvaldoiis thusthe first
differences shown by the fossil form and it and only member of the Bubonini recog-
cannot, therefore, beidentifiedwiththeCu- nized in the Antilles.
ban bird. In size. Bubo osvaldoi exceeds any living
BubobinagadensisBurchak-Abramovich, owl (Table 1), there beingno overlapintar-
1965, from the Pleistocene of Azerbaijan, sal measurements. The smaller ofthe two
was described from a femur that was said fossil femora is exceeded only by the one
to be not less than the size of that in the unsexed specimen ofKetupa blakistoniand
eastern forms offishing owls (genus Ketupa by the largest female specimen available of
assumed, although we may wonder ifBur- Bubo bubo. As females are the larger sex in
chak had access to any comparative mate- owls, ifwe assume that the small fossil fe-
rial) and much larger than in Bubo bubo. mur is from a male, then on a sex per sex
Neither illustrations nor measurements ac- basis there would probably be no overlap
companied the description, only some in- in any hindlimb measurements between
decipherable "indices of massiveness," so Buboosvaldoiandlivingowls.Thehumerus
wecannotdetermineanythingfurtherabout inB. osvaldoi, however, fallswithinthe size
this taxon at present. range ofseveral ofthe larger species ofowls
—
Discussion. Mxhough bubonine owls are (Table 1), suggesting that the wing in this
diverse in the Old World, only two taxa insular form may have been reduced rela-
occur today in the New World—the Snowy tive to the overall size ofthe bird.
Owl {Nyctea scandiaca), which is circum- There is considerable variation in pro-
polar in the high Arctic, and the Great portions ofthe hindlimb, especiallythetar-
VOLUME 107, NUMBER 3 443
from a lineage otherthanthatgiving rise to
B. virginianus may yet be found.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Ross MacPhee for
transporting specimens and papers from
Cuba, to Orlando H. Garrido for returning
same, and to Allison V. Andors for supply-
ing measurements and notes on skeletons
ofScotopelia in the American Museum of
Natural History, New York. Prior to the
discoveryofthetypematerial,WilliamHil-
gartner made valuable comparisons ofthe
specimens from Oriente confirming that
these were not tytonine and probably rep-
We
resented a species ofBubo. also thank
theGrupoEspeleologico"PedroA. Borras"
oftheSociedadEspeleologicadeCubamak-
Fig. 5. Tarsometatari ofBuboin anterior view to ingthe owl fossils foundby one ofits mem-
showthegreatdifferencesinproportionsbetweenvar- bers in Pinar del Rio available for study.
iousspecies. A,B. virginianus(USNM 613846); B,B. The photographs are by Victor E. Krantz
africanus(USNM490288); C,B. sumatranus(USNM and the drawings by L. Isham.
559827). Figuresthree-fourthsnatural size.
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