Allgoviachen Temporal range: Miocene , ( Tortonian ), 11.44  Ma Pre? ? O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Holotype leg bones
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Superfamily:	Anatoidea
Family:	Anatidae
Genus:	† Allgoviachen Mayr , Lechner & Bohme , 2022
Species:	† A. tortonica
Binomial name
† Allgoviachen tortonica Mayr, Lechner & Bohme, 2022

Allgoviachen (meaning " Allgau goose ") is an extinct genus of anatid bird from the Late Miocene ( Tortonian ) Hammerschmiede clay pits of Bavaria , Germany . The genus contains a single species, A. tortonica , known from bones belonging to the left leg. ^[1]

Discovery and naming [ edit ]

The Allgoviachen holotype specimen, SNSB-BSPG 2020 XCIV 1058 , was discovered in the Hammerschmiede clay pits of the Allgau region, near Pforzen , Bavaria , Germany . This specimen consists of the distal femur , tibiotarsus , tarsometatarsus , and most pedal phalanges of the left leg, found in articulation. Specimen GPIT/AV/00143, an incomplete distal left tarsometatarsus, was also assigned to Allgoviachen . ^[1]

In 2022, Gerald Mayr , Thomas Lechner, and Madelaine Bohme described Allgoviachen tortonica , a new genus and species of antatid, based on these fossil remains. The generic name , Allgoviachen , combines the Latin "Allgau", a reference to the type locality , with the Greek "chen," meaning "goose". The specific name , " tortonica ", refers to the Tortonian age of the type specimen. ^[1]

Description [ edit ]

The describing authors concluded that Allgoviachen would have had a body size comparable to the extant anserine Anser indicus (Bar-headed goose) and anatine Alopochen aegyptiaca (Egyptian goose), with an estimated body mass of about 2 kilograms (4.4 lb). ^[1]

References [ edit ]