Limnofregata

Name: Limnofregata ‭(‬Freshwater frigatebird‭)‬.
Phonetic: Lim-no-freg-a-tah.
Named By: S.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Olson‭ ‬-‭ ‬1977.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Aves,‭ ‬Suliformes,‭ ‬Fregatidae,‭ ‬Fregatidae.
Species: L.‭ ‬azygosternon‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬hasegawai,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬hutchisoni.
Diet: Piscivore/carnivore.
Size: Wingspan ranges from about‭ ‬100-120‭ ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: USA,‭ ‬Wyoming‭ ‬-‭ ‬Green River Formation,‭ ‬Wasatch Formation.
Time period: Ypresian‭ ‬-‭ ‬Eocene.
Fossil representation: Several individuals,‭ ‬some almost complete and with feather impressions.

       Limnofregata is a genus of bird that many have commented on about its similarity to modern frigatebirds‭ (‬genus Fregata‭)‬,‭ ‬however there are a number of differences.‭ ‬First and foremost is the obvious fact that Limnofregata lived inland around freshwater,‭ ‬whereas modern frigatebirds live by the sea.‭ ‬There,‭ ‬frigatebirds rely upon soaring as a main method of flight,‭ ‬but Limnofregata would not have been able to do this,‭ ‬and probably relied‭ ‬upon a greater amount of‭ ‬flapping to stay aloft.‭ ‬This‭ ‬also means that there probably was‭ ‬no difference in wing size between males and females,‭ ‬like what we see in frigatebirds so that males and females can coexist albeit in difference zones of the coastline.‭ ‬Modern frigate birds are also known for having a brightly coloured throat pouch that can be inflated and used in display.‭ ‬However the neck vertebrae of Limnofregata differ to those of frigatebirds,‭ ‬and offer no indication that Limnofregata also had a throat pouch.
       A further area of difference between Limnofregata and frigatebirds is that the bill of Limnofregata is in proportion notably shorter than that seen in frigatebirds,‭ ‬and also lacked the hook tip.‭ ‬Despite this Limnofregata is thought to have been a piscivorous bird focusing its attentions upon eating the smaller fish that are known from the Green River Formation such as Diplomystus and Knightia.‭ ‬Overall,‭ ‬despite some superficial similarities to frigatebirds,‭ ‬Limnofregata is thought to have lived more like a gull.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A Lower Eocene frigatebird from the Green River Formation of Wyoming‭ (‬Pelecaniformes:‭ ‬Fregatidae‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology‭ ‬35:1-33.‭ ‬-‭ ‬S.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Olson‭ ‬-‭ ‬1977.
-‭ ‬A new species of Limnofregata‭ (‬Pelecaniformes:‭ ‬Fregatidae‭) ‬from the Early Eocene Wasatch Formation of Wyoming:‭ ‬implications for palaeoecology and palaeobiology.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Palaeontology:‭ ‬1‭–‬11.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Thomas A.‭ ‬Stidham‭ ‬-‭ ‬2014.



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