A pseudodontorn (Pelecaniformes: Pelagornithidae) from the middle Pliocene of Hawera, Taranaki, New Zealand

Abstract

The distal portion of a right humerus and the proximal end of a radius, belonging to a 'bony-toothed bird' (family Pelagornithidae), were collected from marine sediments at Hawera, North Island, New Zealand, and are of Waipipian age (middle Pliocene). This is the first record of a pseudodontorn from the North Island, the third for New Zealand. These specimens extend the world geological time range for this family of extinct birds (previously early Eocene to late Miocene) into the middle Pliocene.

Osteology of a new giant bony-toothed bird from the Miocene of Chile, with a revision of the taxonomy of Neogene Pelagornithidae

“…Howard and Warter (1969) described a partial skull and an associated femur of a pelagornithid bird from New Zealand as Pseudodontornis stirtoni. Unfortunately, the exact age of the holotype is unknown and either Miocene or Pliocene (McKee, 1985). Without sufficient justification the species was transferred to the new taxon Neodontornis by Harrison and Walker (1976).…”

Avian brain evolution: new data from Palaeogene birds (Lower Eocene) from England

“…Poor preservation potential because of this latter feature is perhaps one reason for the poorly resolved systematics of the group, despite a cosmopolitan fossil record spanning the Late Palaeocene (Averianov et al. , 1991) to the mid‐Pliocene (McKee, 1985). O. toliapica was redescribed by Harrison & Walker (1976a) as part of a major review of the relationships of the group.…”

Functional and Phylogenetic Diversity in Marine and Aquatic Birds

“…Their taxonomy is also more problematic than most other recent fossil groups. Traditionally, they have been placed within the Pelecaniformes as the family Pelagornithidae (F€ urbringer, 1888;McKee, 1985;Fig. 15.4 Groups of diving birds within the major divisions of the phylogeny from Livezey & Zusi (2007).…”