New trogons from the early Tertiary of Germany

A new trogon (Aves, Trogoniformes), Primotrogon? pumilio sp. nov., is described from the Middle Eocene (49 Ma) of Messel in Germany. It is the first articulated skeleton of an Eocene trogon, of which only very few fragmentary remains were hitherto known. It is also the earliest complete skeleton of a trogon, exceeding previous finds (Primotrogon wintersteini Mayr 1999) by at least 15 million years. An isolated wing of a trogon is further identified from the early Oligocene (about 30–34 Ma) of the fossil site Frauenweiler in Germany. Primotrogon? pumilio and all other sufficiently well‐preserved early Tertiary trogons appear to be stem group representatives of the Trogoniformes, corresponding with molecular clock data indicating a mid‐Tertiary origin of crown group Trogoniformes.