Fossil remains of bustards (Otidiformes) from the middle Miocene Sharga locality in western Mongolia are represented by Shargaotis ignipes gen. et sp. nov. and yet another undetermined form similar to modern Lophotis. These finds are among the oldest in the fossil record of Otididae, confirming the wide distribution of bustards in Inner Asia in the second half of the Middle Miocene. In addition, Shargaotis ignipes is the oldest morphologically diagnosable representative of bustards, considered as a stem member of the Otis+Chlamydotis clade.
N. V. Zelenkov (2025) studied this question.