Abstract:  A new fossil specimen from the early Middle Eocene of an Irdin Manha Formation equivalent (Erden Obo Section) in Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), China appears to be derived from an ameghinornithid-like species, and may represent the first record of the Ameghinornithidae in Asia. This new specimen exhibits the subcircular lateral condyle outline, the absence of an ossified supratendinal bridge, an enlarged flattened tubercle lateral to the extensor sulcus, and other features shared among known ameghinornithid and ameghinornithid-like birds. The Nei Mongol fossil is roughly contemporaneous with the oldest records of the ameghinornithids from Europe (~48 Ma). The absence of this group of birds from North America, and their occurrence in Europe and Asia during the Eocene contrasts with the contemporaneous Nei Mongol mammalian fauna that is comprised largely of Asian taxa with a few distinct linkages to North America. Along with the record of an ameghinornithid-like bird from the early Oligocene deposits of the Fayum area in Egypt, it seems that this extinct bird group had a much larger geographic distribution than previously recognized.  

摘要： 内蒙古二连盆地额尔登敖包剖面(相当于伊尔丁曼哈组)的中始新世早期地层中新发现的一件标本显示其属于一个与ameghinornithid相似的种，代表了Ameghinornithidae在亚洲的首个记录。新标本具有外踝半圆形，缺失骨质腱桥，伸肌沟外侧具有大而平的结节，以及其他与ameghinornithid和似ameghinornithid鸟类共有的特征。内蒙古标本与欧洲最古老的ameghinornithids记录大体属同一时代(约48 Ma)。与同时期内蒙古哺乳动物群主要由亚洲类群组成兼有少量与北美有关的绝灭类群不同，这类鸟类中始新世时在北美缺失，而存在于欧洲和亚洲。加上埃及法尤姆早渐新世地层中发现的似ameghinornithid鸟类，这类已经绝灭的鸟类的地理分布似乎比过去所认为的要广泛得多。