Masillatrogon incertus
Masillatrogon incertus
View age-specific evidence and explanation
There are no currently eligible, unambiguously age-indexed published Occurrences for this Species. This does not indicate absence or rarity.
These counts describe published LBPS Occurrence records with directly assigned, unambiguous geological-unit mappings—not specimen abundance. Records at restricted Localities and ambiguous or unsupported ages are excluded. Species-level age labels are not used as proof of an age-specific Occurrence.
Specimen-based rarity requires comparable, correctly identified physical fossils, geological provenance and publication permissions. It does not estimate your chance of finding a fossil or collecting access.
Quick Identification
Look for: trogon hindlimb or associated skeletal material that differs from Eotrogon and matches the ?Masillatrogon combination. Because the generic referral is tentative, identification should be based on well preserved comparative material rather than a single toe or shaft.
Summary
Masillatrogon incertus is a London Clay trogon whose generic assignment was deliberately made tentative. Several fossils previously associated with Eotrogon show a different combination of hindlimb and skeletal features and were referred to ?Masillatrogon incertus, extending a genus otherwise best known from the Eocene of continental Europe.
It was probably an arboreal bird with a grasping trogon foot. Insects and small fruits are reasonable dietary possibilities by comparison with trogons, but the exact ecology is not directly demonstrated. The uncertainty concerns its generic placement rather than whether the London Clay material represents a distinctive trogon species.
Diagnostic Features
- The material has a trogoniform hindlimb construction rather than a generalised perching bird foot.
- The species differs from Eotrogon stenorhynchus in the character combination of the referred skeletal elements.
- The generic assignment to Masillatrogon is explicitly tentative in the original description.
- Several specimens formerly considered Eotrogon were separated after detailed osteological comparison.
- Species level use should preserve the taxonomic uncertainty rather than implying a secure generic relationship with the Messel species.
Fossil Details
Similar Species
Recorded Fossil Sites
No fossil-site occurrences have yet been recorded for this species.