临夏盆地发现与现生火鸡及松鸡亲缘关系较近的鸡形目新化石OA

The Linxia Basin,located in Northwest China at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau,preserves a rich fossil record of mammals and birds.Here,we report an exquisitely preserved skeleton representing a new species of small-bodied phasianid from the Linxia Basin,dated to approximately the latest Miocene to Early Pliocene.Gracilisgallus linxia represents the first discovery in China of a taxon closely related to extant grouse and turkey.The new species exhibits a small body size and slender limb bones.Phylogenetic analysis supports its close relationship with extant grouse(Tetraoninae)and turkey(Meleagridinae).The scapula,carpometacarpus,femur,and tarsometatarsus of Gracilisgallus linxia share morphological similarities with its extant relatives,but diagnostic features—such as relatively long spurs on the tarsometatarsus—support its classification as a distinct genus and species,separate from both turkey and grouse.This fossil provides a Late Miocene to Early Pliocene calibration point for the divergence of the turkey—grouse lineages and reveals complex patterns in their radiation across North America and eastern Asia.