An Early Pleistocene magpie (Pica praepica sp. n.) (Corvidae Leach, 1820) from Bulgaria

A new fossil species of magpie is described as Pica praepica sp. n., based on 13 bones of six skeletal elements (coracoid, scapula, ulna, tarsometatarsus, tibiotarsus and phalanx 1 dig. pedis 1) of 2 individuals. These finds are the oldest magpie (g. Pica) in the Palearctic and the World. The holotypic tarsometatarsus differs from extant Pica pica in several characters, i.e.: (1) the wider distal epiphysis, (2) the deeper and more clearly outlined foramen vasculare distale, (3) the wider incisura intertrochlearis lateralis, and (4) the deeper posterior metatarsal groove.