Nambashag Worthy 2011, GEN. NOV.

NAMBASHAG GEN. NOV.

Type species: Nambashag billerooensis sp. nov.

Diagnosis: A phalacrocoracid diagnosed by the following unique combination of characters: ulna with proc. cotyla dorsalis not distinctly hooked distally; coracoid with cotyla scapularis having a shallow sulcus; femur with insertion for M. caudofemoralis a short ovate crista immediately proximal to the nutrient foramen well separated from the crista marking the insertion of M. flexor ischiofemoralis more proximally; tibiotarsus with the thickened tip of the crista cnemialis cranialis in line with rest of the crista, rather than offset anteriorly, sulcus extensorius laterally placed, and pons supratendineus proximodistally short; tarsometatarsus with tendinal canal for M. flexor hallicus longus open plantarly, the tendinal canal for M. flexor digitorum longus nearly enclosed, the tendinal canal for M. flexor perforatus digiti 2 broadly open laterally, groove for M. extensor hallicus longus where it passes over the dorsomedial shaft margin significantly wider than shaft width, lateral margin slightly concave in anterior view, sulcus for M. abductor digiti IV deep over whole length of shaft so crista plantaris dorsalis is parallel and close to the dorsal facies over whole shaft length, and foramen vasculare distale relatively small and well separated from incisura intertrochlearis lateralis.

Etymology: Noun in the nominative singular, masculine; from Namba, from which formation most fossils herein derive, and shaahg, the European name for Phalacrocorax aristotelis, from Old Norse skegg (the beard), so called on account of the recurved crest of feathers that its head is adorned with in spring plumage. The name ‘shag’ first appeared in Merrett (1667).