Remarks on extinct giant owls (Strigidae) from Cuba, with description of a new species of Ornimegalonyx Arredondo

Abstract

A revision of large extinct members of Strigidae described from Quaternary cave deposits in Cuba here reduces the number of valid taxa from five to three. Ornimegalonyx oteroiArredondo, 1958a, is the only valid species of the four previously described in the genus. The type series of Bubo osvaldoiArredondo & Olson, 1994, is revealed to be a composite, comprising two different species in the genera Bubo Duméril, 1805, and OrnimegalonyxArredondo, 1958a, with the latter described herein as a new, diminutive species.