Pterodromoides

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Pterodromoides
Temporal range: Late Miocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Genus: Pterodromoides
Seguí et al., 2001
Species:
P. minoricensis
Binomial name
Pterodromoides minoricensis
Seguí et al., 2001

Pterodromoides is an

Pagodroma
.

Discovery and naming

The fossilized remains of Pterodromoides were found in blocks of sediment excavated from Punta Nati,

Pterodroma in shape and proportions. The specific epithet refers to the type locality of Menorca.[1] In addition, a partial left humerus (USNM 464315) found in the deposits of the Yorktown Formation at Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina, has been referred to P. minoricensis.[2]

Description

A medium-sized bird, Pterodromoides was comparable in shape and proportions to extant petrels of the genus

nasofrontal hinge and interorbital bridge, as well as fused prefrontals. A curved and narrow salt gland impression is present. The orbitonasal foramen is large while the postorbital process is small, and located vertically above the zygomatic process. A strongly developed temporal crest and narrow temporal fossa are also observed.[1]

Under the

distal width of the humerus ranges from 8.9 to 9.6 mm across specimens.[2]

The

proximal end is symmetrical, and the middle shaft expanded mediolaterally.[3]

Classification

Seguí et al. recognized Pterodromoides to be a species of petrel in the family Procellariidae, occupying a basal position among the fulmarine petrels.[1] Although it shows some features resembling those of shearwaters, the general structures of the cranium, coracoid and humerus are most similar to gadfly petrels.[4]

Palaeobiology

Like other petrels, Pterodromoides would have been a

North Atlantic, and possibly a migratory species with wintering grounds which included the western North Atlantic.[2]

Palaeoenvironment

The fossils of Pterodromoides were first discovered at Punta Nati on the northwest coast of

lacertid lizards and bats. Other seabirds, including an undescribed fulmarine petrel more abundant than Pterodromoides, have been reported from the same sediments. Teeth of the fish Balistes crassidens, Sparus cinctus and Trigonodon oweni have also been found at Punta Nati, and would have lived in the seas surrounding the island.[1][5]

Judging from the presence of this species and at least one other, even more abundant

tectonic processes.[6][7]

References

  1. ^
    S2CID 129148277
    .
  2. ^
    hdl:10088/93173
    .
  3. PMID 24621560
    .
  4. ^ Tennyson, Alan J.D.; Mannering, Al A. (January 2018). "A new species of Pliocene shearwater (Aves: Procellariidae) from New Zealand". Tuhinga. 29: 1–19.
  5. S2CID 83649921
    .
  6. S2CID 129044746
    .
  7. ^ Margalef, R. (1985). "Evolution of the Mediterranean basins and a detailed reconstruction of the Cenozoic paleoceanography". Western Mediterranean. Oxford: Pergamon Press. pp. 17–59.
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