A new fulmarine petrel (Aves: Procellariiformes) from the upper miocene of the Western Mediterranean

Abstract

A new sea bird, Pterodromoides minoricensis gen. et sp. nov., similar in size and proportions to species of the modern genus Pterodroma, is described from Late Miocene breccias situated on the north-west coast of Menorca. The cranial osteology is similar to that of fulmarine petrels, but the large orbitonasal opening and characters of the postcranial skeleton justify its classification as a separate genus. At least one other species of procellariid occurs in the accompanying fossil asemblage, suggesting that Late Tertiary ecological conditions favoured sea bird populations in this area of the Mediterranean.