Sagittariidae Explained

Sagittariidae is a family of raptor with one living species—the secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius) native to Africa—and a few fossil taxa.

This single extant species has affected the fossil record of the group by ‘pulling’ the temporal range of the family to the present, an artifact called the Pull of the recent.^[1]

German naturalists Otto Finsch and Gustav Hartlaub established the taxon name as a subfamily—Sagittariinae—in 1870. Although their term postdated Gypogeranidae of Vigors (1825) and Serpentariidae of Selys Longchamps (1842), the genus name Sagittarius (described in 1783) had priority over Gypogeranus Illiger, 1811 and Serpentarius Cuvier, 1798.

Genera

There are at least four genera:

†Amanuensis Mourer-Chauviré, 2003
†Amphiserpentarius Gaillard, 1908
†Pelargopappus Stejneger, 1885
Sagittarius Hermann,1783

The genus Pelargopappus is known from Miocene deposits in France. The genus Amanuensis is known from Miocene deposits in Africa.^[2] ^[3]

Notes and References

Sahney . Sarda . Benton . Michael . 2017 . The impact of the Pull of the Recent on the fossil record of tetrapods . Evolutionary Ecology Research . 18 . 7–23.
Book: Cécile Mourer-Chauviré . 2003 . Birds (Aves) from the Middle Miocene of Arrisdrift (Namibia). Preliminary study with description of two new genera: Amanuensis (Accipitriformes, Sagittariidae) and Namibiavis (Gruiformes, Idiornithidae) . Martin Pickford . Brigitte Senut . Geology and palaeobiology of the Central and Southern Namib. Vol. 2: Paleontology of the Orange River Valley . Geological Survey of Namibia, Memoir 19 . 103–113 .
Book: Mayr . Gerald . Avian Evolution: The Fossil Record of Birds and its Paleobiological Significance . 2016 . John Wiley & Sons . 9781119020769 . 201 .