Unusual tarsometatarsus of a mousebird from the Paleogene of France and the relationships ofSelmesPeters, 1999

In recent years, mousebirds (Aves, Coliiformes) have been recognized as one of the predominant groups of small perching birds in the early Tertiary of the Northern Hemisphere. Two major lineages can be distinguished, the Sandcoleidae, which are exclusively known from Paleocene and Eocene deposits, and the Coliidae, which have been found in Upper Eocene to Pliocene deposits and also include the six extant African species. Here we describe a...