Gaviiformes is an order of aquatic birds containing the loons or divers and their closest extinct relatives. Modern gaviiformes are found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia, though prehistoric species were more widespread.
Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts (Apodidae), the treeswifts (Hemiprocnidae), and the hummingbirds (Trochilidae). In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodimorphae in which hummingbirds are separated as a new order, Trochiliformes. With nearly 450 species identified to date, they are the most diverse order of birds after the passerines.
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 sources, placing all in the genus Sula. However, Sula and Morus (gannets) can be readily distinguished by morphological, behavioral, and DNA sequence characters. Abbott's booby (Papasula) is given its own genus, as it stands apart from both in these respects. It appears to be a distinct and ancient lineage, maybe closer to the gannets than to the true boobies.
Gastornis is an extinct genus of large flightless birds that lived during the mid-Paleocene to mid-Eocene epochs of the Paleogene period. Fossils have been found in Europe, Asia and North America, with the remains from North America originally assigned to the genus Diatryma.
Dmanisi is a town and archaeological site in the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia approximately 93 km southwest of the nation’s capital Tbilisi in the river valley of Mashavera. The hominin site is dated to 1.8 million years ago. It was the earliest known evidence of hominins outside Africa before stone tools dated to 2.1 million years were discovered in 2018 in Shangchen, China.
Palaeobatrachus is an extinct genus of frogs from Europe that existed from the middle Eocene to the middle Pleistocene, spanning almost 50 million years. They were obligately aquatic, and would have not spent much time on dry land. They are one of two genera and by far the largest genus in the family Palaeobatrachidae, which are considered to be members of Pipimorpha, related to the South American-African family Pipidae, which includes the African clawed frog and Surinam toad.
Teilhardina was an early marmoset-like primate that lived in Europe, North America and Asia during the Early Eocene epoch, about 56-47 million years ago. The paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson is credited with naming it after the French paleontologist, Jesuit and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin.
Blanus, also known as worm lizards, are a genus of amphisbaenians found in the Mediterranean region of Europe and North Africa. Like other amphisbaenians, Blanus species are specialized for a subterranean existence, with long, slender bodies, reduced limbs, and rudimentary eyes. Their skulls are powerfully constructed, allowing them to push through soil to create a burrow. Their jaws are well-developed, with large, recurved teeth and a pair of canine-like teeth in the upper jaw.
Diplocynodon is an extinct genus of alligatoroid crocodilian that lived during the Paleocene to Middle Miocene in Europe. Some species may have reached lengths of 3 metres (9.8 ft), while others probably did not exceed 1 metre (3.3 ft). They are almost exclusively found in freshwater environments. The various species are thought to have been opportunistic aquatic predators.
Allognathosuchus is an extinct genus of alligatorine crocodylian with a complicated taxonomic history. It was named in 1921.
Acynodon is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodylomorph from the Late Cretaceous, with fossils found throughout Southern Europe.
Bergisuchus is an extinct genus of small sebecosuchian mesoeucrocodylian known primarily from the Eocene Messel Pit in Germany. Few fossils of Bergisuchus have been discovered, only a single incomplete snout, a few partial lower jaws and some teeth. Despite being fragmentary, the jaw bones are enough to indicate that Bergisuchus had a short, deep, narrow snout and serrated teeth, quite unlike the broad flat snouts of modern crocodylians.
Allaeochelys is an extinct genus of Carettochelyid turtle, known from the Eocene to Miocene of Europe, Asia, North America and Africa.
The Sphaerodactylidae are a family of geckos (Gekkota) distributed in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, as well as in Southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and into Central Asia. The family contains 12 living genera and over 200 living species. The family name comes from the ball shape of their finger joints.
Rugosodon is an extinct genus of multituberculate (rodent-like) mammals from eastern China that lived 160 million years ago during the Jurassic period. The discovery of its type species and currently only known species Rugosodon eurasiaticus was reported in the 16 August 2013 issue of Science.
Geiseltaliellus is an extinct genus of iguanian lizards that lived in what is now western Europe during the Eocene. It belongs to the family Corytophanidae, which includes modern casquehead lizards. Many fossils are known from Germany, France, and Belgium, with the most well preserved coming from the Messel pit lagerstätte in Messel, Germany. German paleontologist Oskar Kuhn named the genus in 1944 after the Geiseltal valley where the first specimens were found, designating the type species Geiseltaliellus longicaudus. Three new species — G. louisi, G. lamandini, and G. grisolli — were named in the 1990s and 2000s on the basis of more fragmentary remains from France and Belgium, although G. louisi has since been synonymized with G. longicaudus. In 2009 the Messel pit specimens were recognized as belonging to a species distinct from that of the G. longicaudus specimens in Geiseltalt and were collectively reclassified under a new name, G. maarius.
Calciavis is an extinct genus of bird from the Eocene of Wyoming. It is a lithornithid, a member of a lineage of flying palaeognaths, distantly related to modern ratites. Like many other fossils from the Green River Formation, its are exceptionally well preserved, bearing impressions of skin and feathers.
Oligocolius is an unusual genus of extinct mousebird from the early to late Oligocene epoch of Germany. Oligocolius is known from two species, the type species O. brevitarsus and O. psittacocephalon. Oligocolius is a member of the family of modern mousebirds (Coliidae) and is broadly similar to them in shape. However, unlike modern mouse birds the skull and beak of Oligocolius closely resembles those of parrots, and appears to be specialised for a distinct lifestyle not found in living mousebirds.
Eoconstrictor is an extinct genus of booid snake, which supposedly had infrared vision, from the Eocene of Germany. The type species, E. fischeri is known from multiple well-preserved specimens found in the Messel Pit of Germany. It was originally named as Palaeopython fischeri by Stephan Schaal in 2004, but examination of the genus showed that it represented a distinct lineage; it was renamed as the new genus Eoconstrictor in 2020. In a subsequent study Georgalis, Rabi & Smith (2021) reinterpreted "Paleryx" spinifer from the Eocene Geiseltal Lagerstätte as the second species species belonging to the genus Eoconstrictor. Palci et al. (2023) named the third species belonging to this genus, E. barnesi described on the basis of fossils from the Geiseltal Lagerstätte.
Titanochelon is an extinct genus of giant tortoises known from the Early Miocene to the beginning of the Pleistocene in Europe, extending from the Iberian Peninsula to Anatolia. Some members of the genus were larger than extant giant tortoises, with a shell length of up to 2 m.
