Prophaethontidae

Prophaethontidae Temporal range: Thanetian–Ypresian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Phaethontiformes
Family:	† Prophaethontidae Harrison & Walker, 1976
Genera
† Lithoptila † Phaethusavis ? † Prophaethon † Zhylgaia ?

Prophaethontidae is an extinct family of Early Paleogene phaethontiforms that include the genera Lithoptila and Prophaethon , as well as possibly Phaethusavis and Zhylgaia . The anatomy of the prophaethontids were more similar to those of members of the order Procellariiformes than to Phaethontidae, features including nostrils that are long and slit-like, with longer wings and legs. This suggests that prophaethontids were better at swimming and being more pelagic and surface-feeding than tropicbirds are today. ^[1] Such features were suggested to link the phaethontiforms with the procellariiforms, ^{[2] [3]} but molecular studies do not support this and instead support a relationship between phaethontiforms and the order Eurypygiformes. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

References

1. Mayr, Gerald (2009). Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer. ISBN   978-3-540-89628-9.
2. Mayr, G (2003). "The phylogenetic affinities of the Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex)". Journal für Ornithologie. 144 (2): 157–175. Bibcode:2003JOrni.144..157M. doi:10.1007/bf02465644. S2CID   36046887.
3. Bourdon, E.; et al. (2005). "Earliest African neornithine bird: A new species of Prophaethontidae (Aves) from the Paleocene of Morocco". J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 25 (1): 157–170. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0157:eanban]2.0.co;2. S2CID   86218884.
4. Jarvis, Erich D.; et al. (2014). "Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds". Science. 346 (6215): 1320–1331. Bibcode:2014Sci...346.1320J. doi:10.1126/science.1253451. PMC   4405904 . PMID   25504713.
5. Prum, R.O.; et al. (2015). "A comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation DNA sequencing" . Nature. 526 (7574): 569–573. Bibcode:2015Natur.526..569P. doi:10.1038/nature15697. PMID   26444237. S2CID   205246158.
6. Braun, E.L. & Kimball, R.T. (2021) Data types and the phylogeny of Neoaves. Birds, 2(1), 1-22; https://doi.org/10.3390/birds2010001