Yarquen

This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Yarquen" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2023)

Yarquen Temporal range: Mid Miocene (Langhian)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Strigiformes
Family:	Strigidae
Genus:	†Yarquen Tambussi, Degrange & Ruiz, 2023
Species:	†Y. dolgopolae
Binomial name
†Yarquen dolgopolae Tambussi, Degrange & Ruiz, 2023

Yarquen is an extinct genus of owls which lived in what is now Argentina in the middle Miocene. It contains a single species, Yarquen dolgopolae. It is the oldest owl to have been formally described from South America.^[1]

The known remains of Yarquen were discovered in the Collón Curá Formation of Río Negro Province, Argentina. The holotype, MLP 92-V-10-86, includes phalanges and the distal end of the right humerus.^[1]

The generic name is derived from the Araucanian word for 'owl', which is masculine in gender. The specific name honors Mathilde Dolgopol de Sáez, the first female paleontologist from Argentina.^[1]

Yarquen was a large owl, its humerus being comparable in size to that of the extant short-eared owl, which it thought to be about the size of. The ungual phalanx of digit 1 has lateral grooves on both sides and is strongly curved. Like other strigid owls, it was presumably a nocturnal or crepuscular predator.^[1]