{{Short description|Extinct genus of birds}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = Late Miocene-Early Pliocene (Huayquerian-Montehermosan)<br />{{fossil range|6.8|4}} | image = Procariama.jpg | display_parents = 2 | genus = Procariama | parent_authority = Rovereto, 1914 | species = simplex | authority = Rovereto, 1914 }}
'''''Procariama''''' is an extinct monotypic genus of phorusrhacid, which lived from the Late Miocene to the Late Pliocene (11-2 million years ago) of Argentina. Fossils of the animal have been found in six places, in the Cerro Azul and Andalhuala Formations.<ref name="Vezzosi2012_p159">{{citation|first=Raúl Ignacio|last=Vezzosi|year=2012|title=First record of Procariama simplex Rovereto, 1914 (Phorusrhacidae, Psilopterinae) in the Cerro Azul Formation (upper Miocene) of La Pampa Province; remarks on its anatomy, palaeogeography and chronological range|journal=Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology|volume=36|issue=2 |url=https://cicyttp.academia.edu/Ra%C3%BAlVezzosi/Papers/1278091/First_record_of_Procariama_simplex_Rovereto_1914_Phorusrhacidae_Psilopterinae_in_the_Cerro_Azul_Formation_upper_Miocene_of_La_Pampa_Province_remarks_on_its_anatomy_palaeogeography_and_chronological_range|access-date=2017-10-01|pages=157–169|doi=10.1080/03115518.2011.597657 |bibcode=2012Alch...36..157V |hdl=11336/79987 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> More specifically in the Andagalá department and in the north of the Belén department of the Catamarca province, with a single location in the La Pampa province.<ref name="Vezzosi2012_p159" /> The type and only species, ''Procariama simplex'', is the largest member of the subfamily Psilopterinae.<ref name="Vezzosi2012_p159" />
== History of Discovery == The lectotype of ''Procariama'' ('''MACN-8225''') is a partial skeleton consisting of an incomplete skull, a pelvis, proximal and distal parts of the left femur, distal parts of the right tibiotarsus, proximal and distal parts of the right tarsometatarsus, foot bones and the nail bearing toe bones of the nearly complete left foot, and fragments of the toe bones of the right foot.<ref name="Alvarenga2003_p59">{{citation|first1=Herculano M.F.|last1=Alvarenga|first2=Elizabeth|last2=Höfling|year=2003|title=Systematic revision of the Phorusrhacidae (Aves: Ralliformes)|journal=Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia|volume=43|issue=4 |url=http://www.scielo.br/pdf/paz/v43n4/17491.pdf|access-date=2017-10-01|pages=55–91|doi=10.1590/S0031-10492003000400001 }}</ref> The genus name was first published in 1914 by Cayetano Rovereto in ''Anales del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Buenos Aires. |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/50860 |title=Anales del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Buenos Aires |last2=Aires |first2=Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Buenos |date=1911 |publisher=Impr. y Casa Editora "Juan A. Alsina" |volume=25 |location=Buenos Aires}}</ref>
== Description == left|thumb|266x266px|The skull of ''Procariama'' (bottom left) compared to 3 other Phorusrhacids. Reaching about {{convert|70|cm|ft}} in height and {{convert|10|kg|lb}} in body mass, ''Procariama'' was one of the smaller phorusrhacids. However, it was larger than ''Psilopterus'', ''Paleopsilopterus'', and other members of the subfamily Psilopterinae.<ref name="Alvarenga2003_p59" />
''Procariama'' is quite similar to ''Psilopterus'', but differs from this genus in both size and a more robust build. This more robust build can be attributed to a slight difference in the ratio between the bones of the legs, with the thigh being comparatively shorter in ''Procariama''. Next to this, the wing bones of ''Procariama'' are also proportionally smaller than those of ''Psilopterus''. In the tarsometatarsus, the hypotarsus has two protrusions, one laterally and one medially, in its most proximal portion. These protrusions look like two crests, which is different from the condition in both ''Psilopterus'' and ''Paleopsilopterus''.<ref name="Alvarenga2003_p59" />
The genus is very similar to ''Mesembriornis'' and lived during the same geological period, making fossils of the two easily confused. This happened, for example, in the original publication by Rovereto.<ref name="Alvarenga2003_p59" />
The genus name of the animal means "before ''Cariama''", referring to the genus ''Cariama'', the red-legged seriema, which is a genus of small, carnivorous bird native to South America. It is also the closest living relative of the Phorusrhachids.<ref name=":0" />
=== Known material === Three specimens of ''Procariama'' are known in addition to the lectotype. Firstly, there's '''MACN-6939''', consisting of a femur missing its distal end, the distal part of the left tarsometatarsus and a few pedal phalanges. Secondly we have '''FM-P 14525''', an exquisitely preserved and nearly complete skeleton.<ref name="Alvarenga2003_p59" />
== Classification == Like all phorusrhacids, ''Procariama'' is part of the order Cariamiformes, the only modern representatives of which are the seriemas. ''Procariama'' is traditionally placed in the subfamily Psilopterinae,<ref name="Alvarenga2003_p59" /> but in the description of ''Llallawavis scagliai'', it is placed in the subfamily Mesembriornithinae as a sister taxon of ''Llallawavis''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Degrange |first1=Federico J. |last2=Tambussi |first2=Claudia P. |last3=Taglioretti |first3=Matías L. |last4=Dondas |first4=Alejandro |last5=Scaglia |first5=Fernando |date=2015-03-04 |title=A new Mesembriornithinae (Aves, Phorusrhacidae) provides new insights into the phylogeny and sensory capabilities of terror birds |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=35 |issue=2 |article-number=e912656 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2014.912656 |bibcode=2015JVPal..35E2656D |issn=0272-4634|hdl=11336/38650 |s2cid=85212917 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> In 2024, it was reclassified as a member of the Psilopterinae.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=LaBarge |first1=T. W. |last2=Gardner |first2=J. D. |last3=Organ |first3=C. L. |year=2024 |title=The evolution and ecology of gigantism in terror birds (Aves, Phorusrhacidae) |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=291 |issue=2021 |at=20240235 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2024.0235 |pmid=38654650 |pmc=11040249 }} [https://rs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/S1_Text_from_The_evolution_and_ecology_of_gigantism_in_terror_birds_Aves_Phorusrhacidae_/25546651?backTo=/collections/Supplementary_material_from_The_evolution_and_ecology_of_gigantism_in_terror_birds_Aves_Phorusrhacidae_/7165777 Supplementary Information]</ref>
{{clade|{{clade |1={{clade |label1=Mesembriornithinae |1={{clade |1=''Mesembriornis incertus'' |2={{clade |1=''Mesembriornis milneedwardsi'' |2={{clade |1=''Llallawavis'' |2='''''Procariama''''' }} }} }} |2=Psilopterinae }} |2=Other phorusrhacids }}|style=font-size:90%; line-height:90%|label1=Phorusrhacidae}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id470065/ Genus Taxonomy]
{{Cariamiformes|C.|state=collapsed}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q2361775}}
Category:Phorusrhacidae Category:Extinct flightless birds Category:Miocene birds of South America Category:Pliocene birds of South America Category:Huayquerian Category:Montehermosan Category:Neogene Argentina Category:Fossils of Argentina Category:Cerro Azul Formation Category:Fossil taxa described in 1914