| Piscator tenuirostris Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Suliformes |
| Family: | Phalacrocoracidae |
| Genus: | † Piscator Harrison and Walker, 1976 |
| Species: | †P. tenuirostris |
| Binomial name | |
| †Piscator tenuirostris Harrison & Walker, 1976 | |
Piscator tenuirostris is an extinct species of cormorant-like bird, the only known species in the genus Piscator.
Piscator tenuirostris is known from an incomplete rostrum, the anterior end of a premaxilla, found in Hordle, England, in formations dating to the Priabonian, the final age of the Eocene Epoch. [1] [2] This holotype is now at the British Museum. [3]
It was initially described by Colin Harrison and Cyril A. Walker in 1976, and placed in the family phalacrocoracidae. [4] It was placed in class Aves incertae sedis by Jiří Mlíkovský in 2002. [2]
A similar sample was found in the Late Eocene-early Oligocene Jebel Qatrani Formation in Faiyum, Egypt, but whether this sample represents P. tenuirostris, another Piscator species, or a different phalacrocoracid is unknown. [1]
Piscator was similar to the extant phalacrocoracidae, a piscivorous family of aquatic birds. [4] Remains were found in the Bracklesham Group in Hordle, England, which dates to the Priabonian, the last age of the Eocene epoch. [4] [2]
The genus was introduced by Cyril A. Walker and Colin Harrison in 1976. [4] It was placed in class Aves incertae sedis by Jiří Mlíkovský in 2002. [2] The word piscator is Latin for "fisherman." Other fossils may also represent species in this genus, but they have not been described as such, with some residing in private collections. [4]
P. tenuirostris is the oldest discovered cormorant-like bird in the fossil record. [1] It is the type specimen of its genus, and the only species of Piscator currently described. [1] [2]