Piscator (bird)
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into Piscator tenuirostris. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2024. |
| Piscator | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Suliformes |
| Family: | Phalacrocoracidae |
| Genus: | †Piscator |
| Type species | |
| †Piscator tenuirostris | |
Piscator is a genus of extinct cormorant-like birds. One species, P. tenuirostris, has so far been described. The genus dates to the Priabonian of the Late Eocene.
Description[edit]
Piscator was similar to the extant phalacrocoracidae, a piscivorous family of aquatic birds.[1] Remains were found in the Bracklesham Group in Hordle, England, which dates to the Priabonian, the last age of the Eocene epoch.[1][2]
Taxonomy[edit]
The genus was introduced by Cyril A. Walker and Colin Harrison in 1976.[3] It was placed in class Aves incertae sedis by Jiří Mlíkovský in 2002.[2] The word piscator is Latin for "fisherman."
The type species, Piscator tenuirostris, is the oldest cormorant-like bird found in the fossil record.[1] Other fossils may also represent species in this genus, but they have not been described as such, with some residing in private collections.[1]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Mayr, Gerald (April 21, 2009). Paleogene Fossil Birds. Berlin: Springer. pp. 65–67. ISBN 978-3-540-89627-2. OCLC 302080522.
- ^ a b Mlíkovsky, Jirí (2002). Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe (PDF). Prague: Ninox Press. p. 268.
- ^ Harrison, C. J. O.; Walker, C. A. (1876). "Birds of the British Upper Eocene". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 59 (4): 323–351. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1976.tb01017.x.
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