Caracara creightoni

Creighton’s Caracara (Caraira de Creighton)

History. — 28 August 1958: holotype collected by J. C. Dickinson and W. Auffenberg at a cave deposit in the Bahamas (Brodkorb 1959: 353, 1964: 292). 3 June 1959: original description published (Brodkorb 1959). 22 January 1976: the single specimen known is considered a synonym (Olson 1976: 363) of living C. plancus (J. F. Miller, 1777). 5 August 1982: two additional fossils, a left quadrate and a distal end of a left tibiotarsus from the type locality provide characters to support the extinct species’ validity (Olson & Hilgartner 1982: 28 – 31, fig. 2: B = tibiotarsus [anterior], D = idem [distal], F = quadrate [medial], H = idem [ventral]). Winter 1997: first record published from Cuba based on specimens from two cave deposits in the west (Suárez & Arredondo 1997: 101). 25 May 2001: species redescribed on basis of cranial and postcranial material from cave and sinkhole deposits in central and west Cuba (Suárez & Olson 2001 a). 11 August 2003: identified in tar seeps at Las Breas de San Felipe, with description of previously unknown skeletal elements (Suárez & Olson 2003 c: 307; see Suárez 2020 a: 32 – 35). 11 December 2007: a well-preserved skull and its respective mandible reported from a blue hole, Sawmill Sink, Great Abaco, Bahamas (Steadman et al. 2007: fig. 6 [lateral]). 3 October 2014: first direct 14 C dating on material (femur) from Great Abaco, Bahamas (Steadman & Franklin 2015: table 2, fig. 3: a [posterior], b [anterior]). November 2019: mitochondrial genome data obtained from a late Holocene (2,500 yr BP) right femur, Great Abaco, Bahamas (Oswald et al. 2019).

Distribution. — Cave, asphalt and sinkhole deposits in west and central Cuba (see Appendix). Artemisa. Caimito: ACP (Suárez & Olson 2003 c: 305), ASA (Suárez & Arredondo 1997: 101, Suárez 2000 b: table 1 [‘ Caracara sp. ’], Suárez & Olson 2003 c: 305). Mayabeque. Quivicán: YTU (Suárez & Olson 2003 c: 307 [‘ Caracara plancus ssp. ’ of Jiménez Vázquez 1997 a: 49]). Matanzas. Cárdenas: MCA (Suárez & Arredondo 1997: 101, Suárez & Olson 2001 b: 502), Martí: MLB (Iturralde-Vinent et al. 2000: table 2 [‘ Caracara sp. ’], Suárez & Olson 2003 c: 307, Suárez 2020 a: 32). Jagüey Grande: MFJ (cf. CLV). Villa Clara. Corralillo: VSM (Suárez & Olson 2001 b: 502, Arredondo Antúnez & Villavicencio Finalet 2006: tables I – II). Direct 14 C dating. — None from Cuba. Bahamas, Late Holocene (Sawmill Sink): 2,650 to 2,350 Cal BP (Steadman & Franklin 2015: table 2, femur). Notes. — Common in Quaternary deposits in Cuba, from where the species seems to have originated and subsequently colonised the Lucayan Archipelago. Recorded from Cuba by Suárez & Arredondo (1997: 101), with additional material subsequently reported and the species redescribed (Suárez & Olson 2001 b, 2003 c, Suárez 2020 a). One record from Dolphin Cave on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (Morgan 1994: 480 [‘ Polyborus creightoni ’]) is considered erroneous (Suárez & Olson 2001 b: 507, Olson 2008: 265). The main features of Creighton’s Caracara vs. congenerics is the presence of a massive and differently shaped rostrum (Suárez & Olson 2001 b: 502, 2014: 308, Suárez 2020 a: 33). Orihuela (2019: 61) commented that ‘ Suárez & Olson (2001 a) hypothesised a recent arrival to Cuba [of C. creightoni], along with Cathartes. ’ but this is a misinterpretation (see Suárez 2020 a: 35). Figueredo (2011: 11) cited the species as ‘ ave de rapiña sin vuelo’ [‘ flightless bird of prey’], which is incorrect. For material and distribution of C. creightoni in the Bahamas, see Brodkorb (1959), Olson (1976), Olson & Hilgartner (1982), Steadman et al. (2007) and Steadman & Franklin (2015, 2020).

Holotype. — Incomplete left carpometacarpus, UF 3153 (Brodkorb 1959: 353, pl. 1, fig. 7 [lateral]). Collected 28 August 1958 by J. C. Dickinson and W. Auffenberg (Brodkorb 1959: 353, 1964: 292). Type locality. — Banana Hole, New Providence Island, Bahamas (Brodkorb 1959: 351; see Olson & Pregill 1982: 4 – 5). Referred material. — Skull: incomplete, OA 3928 (Suárez & Olson 2001 b: 502, figs. 1 B [lateral], 2 B [dorsal]); rostrum, MNHNCu 75.4742 (Suárez 2020 a: 32, fig. 13: A [lateral], B [dorsal]). Notarium: fragmentary, MNHNCu 75.4579. Humerus: proximal end of right, WS 1035 (Suárez & Olson 2003 c: 305, fig. 2 C [anconal]); shaft of right, MNHNCu 75.4759; left lacking proximal end, MNHNCu 75.4817 (Suárez 2020 a: 32, fig. 13 C [palmal]); proximal half of left, MNHNCu 75.4818 (Suárez 2020 a: 32, fig. 13 D [palmal]). Ulna: left, MPSG 75 (Suárez & Olson 2001 b: 502, fig. 3 A: left [internal]). Carpometacarpus: right lacking minor metacarpal, MPSG 77 (Suárez & Olson 2001 b: 502, fig. 3 B: left [internal]); left, MNHNCu 75.4819 (Suárez 2020 a: 32, fig. 13 E [internal]); proximal half of left, MPSG 110. Femur: left, WS 1933 (Suárez & Olson 2003 c: 305, fig. 2 A [anterior], Jones et al. 2013, fig. 5 *: 5 [posterior]); distal end of left, WS 0209; proximal half of right, WS 0142; proximal end of right, WS 587. Tibiotarsus: left lacking internal condyle, MPSG 79 (Suárez & Olson 2001 b: 502, fig. 3 D: left [anterior]); distal end of right lacking posterior rim of internal condyle, MPSG 83; distal halves of right, MNHNCu 75.4852 – 4853; distal ends of right, MNHNCu 75.4854 – 4856; shaft of left, MNHNCu 75.4851; distal ends of right, MNHNCu 75.4584 – 4585; distal ends of left, MNHNCu 75.4580 – 4583. Tarsometatarsus: right, MNHNCu 75.4820 (Suárez 2020 a: 32, fig. 13: D [anterior]) and 75.4827 – 4828; proximal halves of right, MNHNCu 75.4844 – 4847; proximal ends of right, MNHNCu 75.4848 – 4850; right lacking proximal ends, MNHNCu 75.4829 – 4831; distal end of right, MNHNCu 75.4839; left, MPSG 103 (Suárez & Olson 2001 b: 502, fig. 3 C: left [anterior]); left without distal end, MNHNCu 75.4840; proximal ends of left, MNHNCu 75.4841 – 4843; distal halves of left, MNHNCu 75.4832 – 4835, MPSG 106; distal ends of left, MNHNCu 75.4592 – 4593, MNHNCu 75.4836 – 4838; distal ends of right, MNHNCu 75.4586 – 4591.