A new fossil species of Procellaria (Aves: Procellariiformes) from the Pliocene of New Zealand

2021/01/29 by Alan J. D. Tennyson, Barbara M. Tomotani · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Ichthyology and Marine Biology #Petrel #Genus #Ecology #Zoology #Taxon #Geography #Biology #Paleontology #Seabird

paper · pdf · doi:10.11606/1807-0205/2021.61.16

openalex publication_date 2021/01/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

We describe a new Procellaria petrel species from the late Pliocene of Taranaki, New Zealand. The new species is most similar morphologically to the White-Chinned Petrel (P. aequinoctialis), Spectacled Petrel (P. conspicillata) and the Westland Petrel (P. westlandica). Compared with those taxa, the new species has a deeper and shorter premaxilla, longer coracoid and shorter wings, while its legs are a similar size. Today, New Zealand is the centre of global diversity of the genus, with four breeding species. This is the first fossil species of Procellaria to be described from New Zealand, attesting to a reasonably long history of this genus in the region.

Citations

• Analysis of the taxonomy and nomenclature of the Procellariiformes based on complete nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochromebgene
• Geology and paleontology of the Lee Creek mine, North Carolina, III
• Miocene waterfowl and other birds from central Otago, New Zealand
• A small, narrow‐beaked albatross from the Pliocene of New Zealand demonstrates a higher past diversity in the feeding ecology of the Diomedeidae

Cited by

• Procellaria [wikipedia]