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Alca (auk)
Taxonomy
Alca was named by Linnaeus (1758). It is extant.
It was assigned to Alcini by Smith (2011), Smith and Clarke (2011); to Alcinae by Lambrecht (1933), Olson and Rasmussen (2001), Wijnker and Olson (2009), del Hoyo et al. (2014); and to Alcidae by Howard (1968), Olson (1985), Carroll (1988), Martin et al. (2000), Mlikovsky (2002), Dyke and Walker (2005), Clements et al. (2017).
It was assigned to Alcini by Smith (2011), Smith and Clarke (2011); to Alcinae by Lambrecht (1933), Olson and Rasmussen (2001), Wijnker and Olson (2009), del Hoyo et al. (2014); and to Alcidae by Howard (1968), Olson (1985), Carroll (1988), Martin et al. (2000), Mlikovsky (2002), Dyke and Walker (2005), Clements et al. (2017).
Species
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1758 | Plautus Linnaeus |
| 1758 | Alca Linnaeus p. 130 |
| 1902 | Plautus Hay p. 524 |
| 1933 | Alca Lambrecht p. 551 |
| 1955 | Australca Brodkorb p. 25 |
| 1956 | Australca Wetmore p. 78 |
| 1968 | Alca Howard p. 15 |
| 1985 | Alca Olson p. 184 |
| 1985 | Australca Olson p. 184 |
| 1988 | Alca Carroll |
| 1988 | Australca Carroll |
| 2000 | Alca Martin et al. p. 54 |
| 2001 | Alca Olson and Rasmussen p. 270 |
| 2002 | Alca Mlikovsky p. 139 |
| 2005 | Alca Dyke and Walker p. 235 |
| 2009 | Alca Wijnker and Olson p. 482 |
| 2011 | Alca Smith p. 30 figs. Figure 14 |
| 2011 | Alca Smith and Clarke p. 16 |
| 2014 | Alca del Hoyo et al. |
| 2017 | Alca Clements et al. |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
G. Alca Linnaeus 1758 [auk]
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†Alca ausonia Portis 1887
†Alca carolinensis Smith and Clarke 2011
†Alca grandis Brodkorb 1955
†Alca minor Smith and Clarke 2011
†Alca olsoni Smith and Clarke 2011
†Alca stewarti Martin et al. 2000
Alca torda Linnaeus 1758 [razorbill]
Invalid names: Australca Brodkorb 1955 [synonym], Plautus Linnaeus 1758 [synonym]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| N. A. Smith and J. A. Clarke 2011 | Alca is referable to Alcidae based on dorsoventral compression of the humerus (78:0), radius, and ulna (101:0). The shafts of these elements are more rounded in cross section in all other Charadriiformes. The humeral, radial, and ulnar shafts of Cepphus and Pseudocepphus teres are intermediate with respect to shaftroundness (78:1; 101:1) as compared to all other Alcidae and Charadriiformes systematically placed outside of Alcidae. As in all alcids except Mancallinae Brodkorb, 1967, the dorsal cotylar process of the ulna is anteriorly expanded to a degree exceeding that of other Charadriiformes (Smith 2011). As in all Alcidae, the sternum is elongated in comparison with the relatively shorter sterni of other Charadriiformes. Alca is referable to Alcini (contents = Alca + Pinguinus + Uria + Alle + Miocepphus) based on anterior flattening of the extensor process of the carpometacarpus (105:1). Alca is differentiated from Pinguinus by the restriction of the deltopectoral crest to the proximal half of the humeral shaft (55:0). The coracobrachial nerve sulcus of Alca and Pinguinus is a closed duct (61:1), rather than an open sulcus (61:0) as in other Alcini. Alca and Pinguinus are differentiated from Uria, Alle, and Miocepphus mergulellus on the basis of the equal width of the tricipital sulci of the distal humerus (82:1). The humerotricipital sulcus is wider than the scapulotricipital sulcus in Uria (82:0) and M. mergulellus. The scapulotricipital sulcus is wider than the humerotricipital sulcus in Alle (82:2). |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: subo = suborder, o = order | |||||
| References: Benton 1983, Marsh 1875, Bush and Bambach 2015 | |||||
Age range
Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Langhian to the top of the Holocene or 15.98000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 11.63 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 11.63 Ma
Collections (22 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Langhian - Serravallian | USA (California) | Alca sp. (121152) | |
| Tortonian | USA (Maryland) | Alca torda (70853) | |
| Tortonian | USA (Florida) | Australca grandis (122351) | |
| Late/Upper Miocene | USA (Maryland) | Alca torda (51717) | |
| Messinian | USA (Virginia) | Alca sp. (179732) Alca torda (89551) | |
| Zanclean | Belgium (Beveren) | Alca ausonia, Alca stewarti (57912) | |
| Zanclean | USA (North Carolina) | Alca sp., Alca torda, Alca ausonia, Alca carolinensis, Alca minor, Alca olsoni (52582) | |
| Pliocene | Spain (Murcia) | Alca sp. (122306) | |
| Piacenzian | Italy | Uria ausonia (47428) | |
| Early/Lower Pleistocene | United Kingdom (England) | Alca torda (58420) | |
| Pleistocene | United Kingdom (England) | Alca torda (77749) | |
| Pleistocene | United Kingdom (Scotland) | Alca torda (125440) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene | Spain | Alca torda (122309) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene | Italy | Alca torda (122311) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene | Norway | Alca torda (73689) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene | United Kingdom (Wales) | Alca torda (124954 124955) | |
| Holocene | United Kingdom (Wales) | Alca torda (125439) | |
| Holocene | USA (Maine) | Alca torda (122450) | |
| Holocene | USA (Florida) | Alca torda (195050) | |
| Holocene | Finland | Alca torda (177177) |