# A new buzzard from the late Pliocene of Argentina

Federico J. Degrange, Claudia P. Tambussi, Matías L. Taglioretti, and Fernando A. Scaglia
*Acta Palaeontologica Polonica* 66 (4), 2021: 779-787 doi:https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00933.2021

We describe a new species of a large buzzard (Accipitridae), *Buteo dondasi* sp. nov. from the late Pliocene of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina represented by an incomplete left hind limb, including a distal fragment of tibiotarsus, tarsometatarsus, fragment of os metatarsale I, and toes I and II. The new taxon exhibits characteristics of the crown group Accipitridae and the shape of the tarsometarsus allows its assignment to the genus *Buteo*. The new species represents the very first record of a representative of a non-scavenging diurnal bird of prey for the Chapadmalalan and one of the largest accipitrids (~ 2.3 kg) known for Argentina.

**Key words:** Aves, Accipitriformes, *Buteo*, zoophagy, Pliocene, Atlantic coast, Argentina.

Federico J. Degrange [fjdino@gmail.com](mailto:fjdino@gmail.com) (corresponding author) and
Claudia P. Tambussi [tambussi.claudia@conicet.gov.ar](mailto:tambussi.claudia@conicet.gov.ar), Centro de
Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra (CICTERRA), Universidad Nacional de
Córdoba, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
(CONICET), Avenida Vélez Sársfield 1611, X5016GCA, Córdoba, Argentina.
Matías L. Taglioretti [paleomat@gmail.com](mailto:paleomat@gmail.com), Museo Municipal de Ciencias
Naturales Lorenzo Scaglia, Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario
(CIC-UNMdP), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional
de Mar del Plata, Deán Funes 3250, B7602AYJ, Mar del Plata, Argentina.
Fernando A. Scaglia [feroscaglia@gmail.com](mailto:feroscaglia@gmail.com), Museo Municipal de Ciencias Naturales Lorenzo Scaglia,
Av. Libertad 3099, B7600HJB, Mar del Plata, Argentina.
<figure><img src="image_1.png" /></figure>

Full text (629.0 kB)