Pterodromoides Temporal range: | |
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Scientific 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 extinct genus of fulmarine petrel dating from the Late Miocene. It contains a single species, P. minoricensis. Its fossil remains were first discovered at the Punta Nati palaeontological site on the island of Menorca in the Balearic archipelago of the western Mediterranean. An additional specimen from North Carolina, USA has also been referred to this species, suggesting it lived across the North Atlantic. It was described in 2001, with the authors justifying the creation of a new genus by the large orbitonasal opening and characters of the postcranial skeleton, despite the similarity of the cranial osteology to that of Pagodroma .
The fossilized remains of Pterodromoides were found in blocks of sediment excavated from Punta Nati, Menorca in August 1995 by Josep Quintana and Salvador Moyà-Solà. Bones of various vertebrates were present in these blocks, the most abundant being those of procellariids. A small sample of these, including a skull and some postcranial remains, were recognized to represent a new genus and species, which was named Pterodromoides minoricensis in 2001. A cranium (IPS 11826) was designated as the holotype of this species. The generic name derives from its resemblance to 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]
A medium-sized bird, Pterodromoides was comparable in shape and proportions to extant petrels of the genus Pterodroma . Similarly to the snow petrel, it has a very broad 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 humeral head, the humerus has a narrow hollow extending a quarter the width between the ventral and dorsal tubercles. These two tubercles are comparable in size, and the dorsal tubercle is located dorsally on the ridge of the capital shaft. Unlike Puffinus , this species has a round humeral shaft with no flattening. A long, deep and narrow groove is left by the transverse humeral ligament. The brachial fossa is intermediate in depth between those of Pachyptila and Puffinus, as well as rounder than those of Fulmarus . [1] The distal width of the humerus ranges from 8.9 to 9.6 mm across specimens. [2]
The tarsometatarsus does not exhibit the lateromedial compression seen in Puffinus, and the proportions resemble those of Cookilaria . An elongated depression on the anterior side is surrounded by the lateral and medial ridges. [1] The proximal end is symmetrical, and the middle shaft expanded mediolaterally. [3]
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]
Like other petrels, Pterodromoides would have been a seabird, flying out to sea in order to hunt fish and invertebrates, and it is believed to be a surface feeder which fed on prey that has been pushed towards the surface by currents or predators. It has been theorized that its rarity in the Yorktown Formation (being known from one specimen at the site) is due to taphonomic processes related to this surface feeding ecology. Based on the presence of Pterodromoides remains in both North Carolina and the Mediterranean, this bird is believed to have been widespread across the North Atlantic, and possibly a migratory species with wintering grounds which included the western North Atlantic. [2]
The fossils of Pterodromoides were first discovered at Punta Nati on the northwest coast of Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands of Spain. This site is believed to date back to the late Miocene and early Pliocene epochs based on the fossil assemblage. Remains of various animals are known from Punta Nati and these species would likely have been contemporaries of Pterodromoides. These include the tortoise Solitudo , the giant lagomorph Nuralagus , and the dormouse Muscardinus cyclopeus , as well as indeterminate 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 procellariiform, it is believed that the coast of Menorca had a zone of high marine productivity during the late Miocene and early Pliocene. [1] This productivity level likely dropped in the late Pliocene based on how seabird remains became rare or absent, and seabird populations on Menorca today are still much lower than on the islands of Ibiza and Formentera, indicating a change in the Mediterranean current systems which may be related to tectonic processes. [6] [7]
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season.
Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the phylogenetic order Procellariiformes.
The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes, which also includes the albatrosses and the storm petrels.
The Manx shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters. The Atlantic puffin acquired the name much later, possibly because of its similar nesting habits.
The Balearic shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. Puffinus is a Neo-Latin loanword based on the English "puffin" and its variants, that referred to the cured carcass of the fat nestling of the Manx shearwater, a former delicacy. The specific mauretanicus refers to Mauretania, an old name for an area of North Africa roughly corresponding to Morocco and Algeria. The Balearic Shearwater is listed critically endangered by the IUCN and is one of Europe's most endangered seabirds.
The yelkouan shearwater, Levantine shearwater or Mediterranean shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater.
Puffinus is a genus of seabirds in the order Procellariiformes that contains about 20 small to medium-sized shearwaters. Two other shearwater genera are named: Calonectris, which comprises three or four large shearwaters, and Ardenna with another seven species.
Calonectris is a genus of seabirds. The genus name comes from Ancient Greek kalos, "good" and nectris, "swimmer".
Bulweria is a genus of seabirds in the family Procellariidae named after English naturalist James Bulwer. The genus has two extant species, Bulwer's petrel and Jouanin's petrel. A third species, the Olson's petrel, became extinct in the early 16th century; it is known only from skeletal remains. Bulwer's petrel ranges in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, whereas Joaunin's petrel is confined to the northwestern Indian Ocean. Olson's petrel is known from the Atlantic.
Myotragus is an extinct genus of goat-antelope in the tribe Caprini which lived on the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Menorca in the western Mediterranean until its extinction around 4,500 years ago. The fossil record of Myotragus on the Balearic Islands extends over 5 million years back to the early Pliocene on Mallorca, where it presumably arrived after the evaporation of the Mediterranean Sea during the Messinian Salinity Crisis.
The fulmarine petrels or fulmar-petrels are a distinct group of petrels within the family Procellariidae. They are the most variable of the four groups within the Procellariidae, differing greatly in size and biology. They do, however, have a unifying feature, their skull, and in particular their nasal tubes. They are predominantly found in the Southern Ocean with one species, the northern fulmar, ranging in the North Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Nuralagus is an extinct genus of leporid, with a single species, Nuralagus rex, described in 2011. It lived on Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean during the Pliocene epoch. It is the largest known lagomorph to have ever existed, with an estimated weight of 8–12 kilograms (18–26 lb), nearly double the weight of the average Flemish Giant rabbit. It likely went extinct at the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition when Mallorca and Menorca were united as one island, letting the mammalian fauna of Mallorca, including the goat-like ungulate Myotragus, colonize Nuralagus's habitat.
Ardenna is a genus of seabirds in the family Procellariidae. These medium-sized to large shearwater species were formerly included in the genus Puffinus.
Hypnomys, otherwise known as Balearic giant dormice, is an extinct genus of dormouse (Gliridae) in the subfamily Leithiinae. Its species are considered examples of insular gigantism. They were endemic to the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean from the Early Pliocene until their extinction around 4,000 years ago. They first appeared in the fossil record on Mallorca during the Early Pliocene, presumably due to the Messinian salinity crisis causing a connection with mainland Europe. They later spread to Menorca, and a possible molar is also known from Ibiza. Hypnomys became extinct during the Holocene after human arrival on the Balearics. They were one of only three native land mammals to the islands at the time of human arrival, alongside the shrew Nesiotites and goat-antelope Myotragus.
Puffinus nestori is an extinct seabird in the petrel family. Its fossil remains, dating from the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene, were found on the island of Ibiza of the Balearic archipelago in the western Mediterranean. It was speculated that it was the direct ancestor of the Mediterranean shearwater.
Nesiotites is an extinct genus of large red-toothed shrews belonging to the tribe Nectogalini known from the latest Miocene/Early Pliocene to Holocene of the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Menorca.