Buteogallus irpus

Wolf Hawk (Gavilán Lobo)

Distribution. — Cave deposit in west Cuba (see Appendix). Artemisa. Caimito: ASA ([Sandoval III low deposit, see Suárez 2000 b: 67 – 68] Suárez & Arredondo 1997: 100 – 101 [‘ Amplibuteo sp. ’], Suárez 2004 a: 121 [‘ Amplibuteo woodwardi ’], Suárez & Olson 2021: 259 [‘ Buteogallus irpus, sp. nov. ’]). Direct 14 C dating. — None. Notes. — Very rare, known from a single cave deposit in west Cuba and the type locality in south-central Hispaniola (Suárez & Olson 2021). B. irpus possesses a tarsometatarsus within the size range of the extinct continental species B. woodwardi (L. Miller, 1911) and B. hibbardi (Campbell, 1979), but relatively shorter and more robust, with reduced trochleae (Suárez & Olson 2021). Although currently synonyms of the genus Buteogallus, both Harpyhaliaetus Lafresnaye and Heterospizias Sharpe were incorrectly cited in place of the former by Suárez & Olson (2021: 259) when listing characters 9 and 10 of ‘ Amplibuteo ’ described by Campbell (1979: 77). These characters of the distal tarsometatarsus (trochleae) are of specific value and their presence is variable in living and extinct species currently in Buteogallus, as partially described by Campbell (1979: 74). The extinct genus Titanohierax, described from the Bahamas (Wetmore 1937) and currently unknown outside those islands (Suárez & Olson 2008, Suárez 2020 a), was erroneously considered to be more widely distributed in the West Indies (cf. Woods 1980, Olson & Hilgartner 1982, Morgan 1977 a, b, 1994, Morgan et al. 2019). See Buteogallus borrasi. A re-evaluation of some fossils representing large members of Accipitridae from continental deposits in North America probably will shed more light on the taxonomy and distribution of T. gloveralleni.

Holotype. — Left tarsometatarsus lacking proximal end, USNM PAL 299573 (Suárez & Olson 2021: figs. 1: A [anterior], B [medial], C [distal], D [posterior], E [lateral], 2: A [anterior]). Collected on 24 April 1978 by Charles Woods, under 60 cm of red earth, at the type locality (Suárez & Olson 2021; see also Olson & Hilgartner 1982: 28). Other material. — Partial skeleton: WS 365 (see Suárez 2004 a: Figs. 1 – 2), including: one cervical (axis) and three thoracic vertebrae, seven fragments of ribs, fragmentary pelvis (fig. 2 E [lateral]), proximal fragmentary right humerus (fig. 2 A [palmar], B [anconal]), distal fragments of left humerus (fig. 2 C [palmar]), segment of shaft of left ulna (fig. 2 D [palmar]), left fragmentary femur without distal end (fig. 2 G [anterior]), proximal and distal fragmentary ends of right femur (fig. 2 F – F’ [anterior]), shaft of left tibiotarsus (fig. 2 I [posterior]), proximal right fibula (fig. 2 H [internal]), left tarsometatarsus lacking inner calcaneal ridge, part of the metatarsal facet, wing of trochlea II, and posterior surface of trochlea III (fig. 1 A [anterior], fig. 2 J [anterior], K [proximal], L [posterior], Suárez & Olson 2008: fig. 1 C [anterior], 2021: fig. 2 B [anterior]), left digit I, phalanx 1 (fig. 2 M [dorsal]) and phalanx 2 (fig. 2 N [lateral]), left digit III, phalanx 2 and phalanx 3, right digit III, phalanx 4 (fig. 2 O [lateral]), right digit IV, phalanx 4. Collected on 2 March 1995 by WS. Cited figures are from Suárez (2004 a), other than where indicated. Type locality. — Cueva de las Abejas (18 ° 01 ’ N, 71 ° 67 ’ W; elevation c. 20 m), near Cabo Rojo, 8 km south-east of Pedernales, Pedernales province, Dominican Republic. Quaternary, probably late Pleistocene, but not directly dated (Suárez & Olson 2021: 260; see Olson & Hilgartner 1982: 28, Steadman et al. 2019: 321).