Palaeotis weigelti restudied : a small middle Eocene Ostrich (Aves : Struthioniformes)

Peter Houde and Hartmut Haubold

Palaeotis weigelti, from the Middle Eocene of central Europe, is a flightless, paleognathous bird. It appears to be a member of the ostrich lineage on the basis of trivial derived characters. It is a very primitive ratite, however, and does not possess any of the highly specialized cursorial adaptations that characterize the modern steppe -and savanna- dwelling ostriches.