2 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I49 



is broken diagonally for 27 mm. This distal tibiotarsus represents 

 an estimated 40 to 50 percent of the original bone. The fossil was 

 collected on July 18, 1930, by Paul McGrew and Phillip Harper at 

 a quarry four miles southeast of Valentine, Cherry County, Nebraska, 

 SEC. 17, T. 33N, R. 27 W. It comes from Cr-12 in the Valentine 

 formation of the Ogallala group, assigned to the Lower Pliocene 

 (possibly upper Miocene). The tibiotarsus is fully fossilized and 

 sandy brown in color. A cast of the bone is present in the U. S. 

 National Museum. 



Diagnosis. — The fossil tibiotarsus is massive, with a rather small 

 condylar head for its shaft diameter. It is characterized by : having 

 a narrow condylar head with a very narrow posterior border of 

 its articulating surface ; its narrow intercondylar groove ; its very 

 short, papilla-like, external ligamental process ; its pronounced inter- 

 nal ligamental prominence; the lack of a definite notch between the 

 intercondylar tubercle and external condyle; and its low, oval distal 

 opening of the tendinal groove. 



Measurements : Measurements and their ratios for the fossil are 

 given in Table 1 (see p. 11). 



Etymology: The generic name Dissourodes reflects the similarity 

 between the fossil tibiotarsus and that of the modern Dissoura epis- 

 copus. It is a pleasure to name this species in honor of Dr. Loye H. 

 Miller, who has contributed greatly to our knowledge of fossil birds. 



COMPARISON WITH OTHER FOSSIL STORKS 



The fossil tibiotarsus has been compared with descriptions and 

 figures of Propelargas edwardsi, Amphipelargus majori, Ciconia 

 maltha, Xenorhynchopsis tibialis and X. minor, for which distal 

 tibiotarsi are known. 



The following are the known fossil storks from the late Tertiary 

 (mostly taken from Brodkorb, 1963) : 



Miocene Pliocene Pleistocene 



Ibis milne- Amphipelargus Ciconia maltha — U. S. 



edwardsi — France majori — Greece 



Pelargopappus Ciconia gaudryi — Xenorhynchus nanus — 



magnus — France Greece Australia 



Propelargus Leptoptilos Xenorhynchopsis tibialis — 



edwardsi — France falconeri — India Australia 



