''Odontopteryx'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of the

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

pseudotooth bird The Pelagornithidae, commonly called pelagornithids, pseudodontorns, bony-toothed birds, false-toothed birds or pseudotooth birds, are a prehistoric family (biology), family of large seabirds. Their fossil remains have been found all over the wor ...

s or pelagornithids. These were probably rather close relatives of either

pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

s and

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

s, or of

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertainty.Bourdon (2005), Mayr (2009: p.59)

Species and taxonomy

One

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of ''Odontopteryx'' has been formally described, but several other named

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

of pseudotooth birds might belong here too. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

''Odontopteryx toliapica'' is known from the

Ypresian In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by th ...

(Early Eocene)

London Clay The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...

of the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is derived ...

(

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) and slightly older rocks of the

Ouled Abdoun Basin The Oulad Abdoun Basin (also known as the Ouled Abdoun Basin or Khouribga Basin) is a phosphate sedimentary basin located in Morocco, near the city of Khouribga. It is the largest in Morocco, comprising 44% of Morocco's phosphate reserves, and a ...

(

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

). Its

tarsometatarsus The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is only found in the lower leg of birds and some non-avian dinosaurs. It is formed from the fusion of several bones found in other types of animals, and homologous to the mammalian tarsus (ankle bones) and meta ...

(e.g. specimen BMNH A4962) was for some time in the late 20th century believed to be from a giant procellariiform and called ''Neptuniavis minor'', but specimen BMNH A44096 – the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

skull described by

Richard Owen Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and paleontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkable gift for interpreting fossils. Owe ...

in 1873 – was the first pelagornithid recognized as such, and not assigned to some other

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

lineage. It was still often allied with

Sulidae The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulids, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The 10 species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sou ...

(boobies and gannets) or

Diomedeidae Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...

(albatrosses), to which it is quite certainly not closely related. One to five (or perhaps more) additional unnamed species are tentatively assigned to the present genus, mainly due to their size and/or forward-angled "teeth": one smaller and one larger than ''O. toliapica'' and also from the

Late Paleocene The Thanetian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS Geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Serie ...

Early Eocene In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian i ...

of the Ouled Abdoun Basin in Morocco, one from the mid-

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

, one from Middle Eocene strata of the Tepetate Formation from near El Cien (

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

), and one from the Early Eocene of

Virginia, USA Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. As regards the Moroccan fossils, however, the largest of the three ''Odontopteryx''-like forms (initially called "''Odontopteryx'' n. sp. 2") has provisionally been termed "Odontopteryx gigas" but may in fact be a ''

Dasornis ''Dasornis'' is a genus of the prehistoric pseudotooth birds. These were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertainty. ...

'', while the smallest ("''Odontopteryx'' n. sp. 1") has been considered a distinct genus (as " Odontoptila inexpectata") but that name is both a ''

nomen nudum In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate descr ...

'' and would in any case be a

junior homonym In biology, a homonym is a name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another such name, that belongs to a different taxon. The rule in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is that the first such name to be published is the se ...

of the

geometer moth The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metr ...

genus '' Odontoptila'' and thus unavailable for the bird. Though the Mexican specimen ( MHN-UABCS Te5/6–517, a

distal Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...

humerus The humerus (; ) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extremity consists of a roun ...

piece) agrees with ''O. toliapica'' in size and shape, it is not entirely clear whether the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

forms belong in this otherwise

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

n genus. It must be remembered, however, that at that their time the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...

had not been formed yet. '' Pseudodontornis tschulensis'' from the

of Zhylga (

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

) is sometimes placed in ''Odontopteryx'', as is '' Macrodontopteryx oweni'' which was also found in the London Clay. In the latter case however, this does not seem to be correct (see below). The species originally described as ''O. longirostris'' was made the type species of ''

Pseudodontornis ''Pseudodontornis'' is a rather disputed genus of the prehistoric pseudotooth birds. The pseudotooth birds or pelagornithids were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odo ...

'' in 1930. Small pelagornithid specimens have also been reported from the

Early Oligocene The Rupelian is, in the geologic timescale, the older of two ages or the lower of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/Series. It spans the time between . It is preceded by the Priabonian Stage (part of the Eocene) and is followed by the Chatti ...

Kishima Group and the

Late Oligocene The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the younger of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/Series. It spans the time between . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian (the lowest stage ...

Ashiya Group of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, but their placement in ''Odontopteryx'' is even more uncertain. ''"Neptuniavis" minor'' was described from remains assigned to ''O. toliapica'' by

Richard Lydekker Richard Lydekker (; 25 July 1849 – 16 April 1915) was an English naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books on natural history. Biography Richard Lydekker was born at Tavistock Square in London. His father was Gerard Wolfe Lydekker, ...

in 1891. However, the supposed procellariiform genus ''Neptunavis'' is actually a pseudotooth bird too, and hence the smaller "species" is here synonymized as proposed by Lydekker. The

''"N." miranda'', on the other hand, is a

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

of the large ''

Dasornis emuinus ''Dasornis'' is a genus of the prehistoric pseudotooth birds. These were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertainty. ...

''. In a peculiar twist, some material assigned to ''"N." minor'' eventually turned out to be remains of the

paleognath Palaeognathae (; ) is a infraclass of birds, called paleognaths, within the class Aves of the clade Archosauria. It is one of the two extant infraclasses of birds, the other being Neognathae, both of which form Neornithes. Palaeognathae contain ...

'' Lithornis vulturinus''; the very first described bone of ''Dasornis emuinus'' on the other hand – a

piece – was at first mistaken for to be a ''

Lithornis ''Lithornis'' is a genus of extinct paleognathous birds. Although ''Lithornis'' was able to fly well, their closest relatives are the extant tinamous (which are poor flyers) and ratites (which are flightless birds). Fossils of ''Lithornis'' a ...

'' tarsometatarsus.

Description and systematics

''O. toliapica'' is among the smallest pseudotooth birds known to date – but this still means that to would have rivalled, if not exceeded, most living

albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...

es in

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

and the

brown pelican The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mout ...

(''Pelecanus occidentalis'') in bulk. In life, its head (including the beak) would have been 20–25 cm (8–10 in) long. Unlike in most other pseudotooth birds, its "teeth" are slanted forwards. Like those of its relatives, the thin-walled bones of ''Odontopteryx'' broke easily and thus very few

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s – though still far more than of the average pseudotooth bird genus – are decently preserved. In combination with its small (for pseudotooth birds) size, some traits allow to identify the present genus. It resembles ''

'' in having a

jugal The jugal is a skull bone found in most reptiles, amphibians and birds. In mammals, the jugal is often called the malar or zygomatic. It is connected to the quadratojugal and maxilla, as well as other bones, which may vary by species. Anatomy ...

arch that is mid-sized, tapering and stout behind the

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...

al process of the

prefrontal bone The prefrontal bone is a bone separating the lacrimal and frontal bones in many tetrapod skulls. It first evolved in the sarcopterygian clade Rhipidistia, which includes lungfish and the Tetrapodomorpha. The prefrontal is found in most modern and ...

, unlike in the large

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

'' Osteodontornis''. Also, its paroccipital process is much elongated back- and downwards, again like in ''Dasornis'' but unlike in '' Pseudodontornis longirostris''. Meanwhile, the

specimen from

( MHN-UABCS Te5/6–517) which may or may not belongs in the present genus differs from the corresponding bone of ''Osteodontornis'' in a more narrow and less excavated surface between the external

condyle A condyle (;Entry "condyle"
in
ectepicondylar prominence, with the pit between these closer to the bone's end. Its

quadrate bone The quadrate bone is a skull bone in most tetrapods, including amphibians, sauropsids (reptiles, birds), and early synapsids. In most tetrapods, the quadrate bone connects to the quadratojugal and squamosal bones in the skull, and forms upper ...

, meanwhile, differed from that of ''Osteodontornis'' in a very broadly grooved

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

head, a wide main shaft with a strongly curved

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Healthcare *Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction *Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle *Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap Phonetics *Lateral cons ...

ridge and a small and somewhat forward-pointing

al process. The forward center of the quadrate's

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek language, Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. Th ...

articulation ridge extends downwards and to the middle, and the

pterygoid process The pterygoid processes of the sphenoid (from Greek ''pteryx'', ''pterygos'', "wing"), one on either side, descend perpendicularly from the regions where the body and the greater wings of the sphenoid bone unite. Each process consists of a me ...

is only slightly expanded to the upper center in ''Odontopteryx''. The socket for the

quadratojugal The quadratojugal is a skull bone present in many vertebrates, including some living reptiles and amphibians. Anatomy and function In animals with a quadratojugal bone, it is typically found connected to the jugal (cheek) bone from the front and ...

is displaced downwards. The quadrate of ''P. longirostris'' is not very well preserved; it agees with ''Odontopteryx'' in a broad main shaft but is closer to ''Osteodontornis'' in the straight main shaft ridge and its upward-directed ventral articulation ridge's forward center. Its quadratojugal socket differs from both. Odontopteryx_toliapica

''Odontopteryx'' differed from ''

Pelagornis ''Pelagornis'' is a widespread genus of prehistoric pseudotooth birds. These were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertain ...

'' (a contemporary of ''Osteodontornis'') and agreed with ''Dasornis'' in having a deep and long handward-pointing pneumatic foramen in the fossa pneumotricipitalis of the

, a

latissimus dorsi muscle The latissimus dorsi () is a large, flat muscle on the back that stretches to the sides, behind the arm, and is partly covered by the trapezius on the back near the midline. The word latissimus dorsi (plural: ''latissimi dorsorum'') comes from L ...

attachment site on the humerus that consists of two distinct segments instead of a single long, and a large knob that extends along the

ulna The ulna (''pl''. ulnae or ulnas) is a long bone found in the forearm that stretches from the elbow to the smallest finger, and when in anatomical position, is found on the medial side of the forearm. That is, the ulna is on the same side of t ...

where the ligamentum collaterale ventrale attached. Further differences between ''Odontopteryx'' and ''Pelagornis'' are found in the

: in the present genus, it lacks a deep fossa of the

hallux Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being '' digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being '' pl ...

first metatarsal bone The first metatarsal bone is the bone in the foot just behind the big toe. The first metatarsal bone is the shortest of the metatarsal bones and by far the thickest and strongest of them. Like the four other metatarsals, it can be divided into ...

and its middle toe

trochlea Trochlea (Latin for pulley) is a term in anatomy. It refers to a grooved structure reminiscent of a pulley's wheel. Related to joints Most commonly, trochleae bear the articular surface of saddle joint, saddle and other joints: * Trochlea of hume ...

is conspicuously expanded forward. The

salt gland The salt gland is an organ for excreting excess salts. It is found in the cartilaginous fishes subclass elasmobranchii (sharks, rays, and skates), seabirds, and some reptiles. Salt glands can be found in the rectum of sharks. Birds and reptile ...

s inside the

eye socket In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents. In the adult human, the volume of the orbit is , of ...

s were far less developed in ''Odontopteryx'' than in ''Pelagornis''. As the traits shared between ''Odontopteryx'' and ''Dasornis'' are probably

plesiomorph In phylogenetics, a plesiomorphy ("near form") and symplesiomorphy are synonyms for an ancestral character shared by all members of a clade, which does not distinguish the clade from other clades. Plesiomorphy, symplesiomorphy, apomorphy, and ...

ic however, they cannot be used to argue for a closer relationship between the two

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...

genera than either had with ''Osteodontornis'' and/or ''Pelagornis''. But even though – due to the lack of better-preserved fossils – a close relationship between ''Odontopteryx'' and ''Dasornis'' cannot be excluded for sure either, it seems that the Neogene pseudotooth birds all derive from a large Paleogene form – such as ''Dasornis'' or (if it is not actually identical with ''Pelagornis'') the mysterious ''P. longirostris'' – and that the smallish lineage became entirely

before the Neogene (perhaps in the ''

Grande Coupure Grande means "large" or "great" in many of the Romance languages. It may also refer to: Places * Grande, Germany, a municipality in Germany *Grande Communications, a telecommunications firm based in Texas *Grande-Rivière (disambiguation) *Arroi ...

''). In 1891 ''O. toliapica'' was proposed as

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...

of a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Odontopterygidae; recent authors generally place all pseudotooth birds in a single family. But if the

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

ary scenario outlined above is correct, the family name Pelagornithidae could be restricted to the giant lineage, and the Odontopterygidae reestablished as name for the smaller lineage. ''Macrodontopteryx'' was initially also included in the Odontopterygidae, but if not a distinct genus it is more likely a young individual of ''Dasornis''. The only smallish Neogene pseudotooth bird known as of 2009 is '' "Pseudodontornis" stirtoni'' from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, which was about the size of ''O. toliapica''. Its relationships are completely obscure.Lanham (1947), Scarlett (1972), Brodkorb (1963: p.262), Olson (1985: p.195), González-Barba ''et al.'' (2002), Mlíkovský (2002: p.81), Mayr (2008, 2009: p.59)

Footnotes

References

* (2005): Osteological evidence for sister group relationship between pseudo-toothed birds (Aves: Odontopterygiformes) and waterfowls (Anseriformes). ''

Naturwissenschaften ''The Science of Nature'', formerly ''Naturwissenschaften'', is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer Science+Business Media covering all aspects of the natural sciences relating to questions of biological significance. I ...

'' 92(12): 586–591. (HTML abstract
Electronic supplement
(requires subscription) * (2006): L'avifaune du Paléogène des phosphates du Maroc et du Togo: diversité, systématique et apports à la connaissance de la diversification des oiseaux modernes (Neornithes) Paleogene avifauna of phosphates of Morocco and Togo: diversity, systematics and contributions to the knowledge of the diversification of the Neornithes" Doctoral thesis,

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

n French N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

br>HTML abstract
* (1963): Catalogue of fossil birds. Part 1 (Archaeopterygiformes through Ardeiformes). ''Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences'' 7(4): 179–293
PDF or JPEG fulltext
* (2002): Earliest Pacific Basin record of the Pelagornithidae (Aves, Pelecaniformes). '' J. Vertebr. Paleontol.'' 22(2): 722–725. DOI:10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022 722:EPBROT.0.CO;2HTML abstract
* (1964): ''Pseudodontornis'' and other large marine birds from the Miocene of South Carolina. ''Postilla'' 83: 1–19
Fulltext
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

* (1999): ''International Code of Zoological Nomenclature'' (4th ed.). International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, London. HTML fulltext
* (1947): Notes on the phylogeny of the Pelecaniformes. ''

Auk An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (a ...

'' 64(1): 65–70
DjVu fulltextPDF fulltext
* (2008): A skull of the giant bony-toothed bird Dasornis (Aves: Pelagornithidae) from the Lower Eocene of the Isle of Sheppey. ''

Palaeontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

'' 51(5): 1107–1116. (HTML abstract) * (2009): ''Paleogene Fossil Birds''. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg & New York. Preview
at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

* (2002): ''Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe''. Ninox Press, Prague. PDF fulltext
* (2008)
Panama: Isthmus that Changed the World
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* (2008)

Version of 2008-FEB-10. Retrieved 2009-AUG-04. * (2005): ''Digital Nomenclator Zoologicus'', version 0.86 3: 387
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* (2001): A new Neogene marine avian assemblage from north-central Chile. '' J. Vertebr. Paleontol.'' 21(3): 484–491. DOI:10.1671/0272-4634(2001)021 484:ANNMAA.0.CO;2PDF fulltext
* (1909): ''A Guide to the Fossil Mammals and Birds in the Department of Geology and Palaeontology of the British Museum (Natural History)'' (9th ed.). William Clowes and Sons Ltd., London
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at the

External links

* Corbis
Photo
of the

skull (BMNH A44096). Retrieved 2009-AUG-21. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1389634 Pelagornithidae Paleogene birds Fossil taxa described in 1873 Cenozoic birds of Africa Prehistoric bird genera

Species and taxonomy

Description and systematics

Footnotes

References

Further reading

External links