A New Giant Petrel (Macronectes, Aves: Procellariidae) from the Pliocene of Taranaki, New Zealand

Abstract

A new species of giant petrel, Macronectes tinae sp. nov., is described from the Pliocene deposits of South Taranaki, New Zealand. The holotype is a near complete skull and the paratype a fragmentary left humerus; both come from the Tangahoe Formation, dating from the late Pliocene (Piacenzian or “Waipipian”; age estimated as ca. 3.36–3.06 Ma). The new species of giant petrel is the first fossil Macronectes ever reported. It is morphologically similar to the two present-day Macronectes spp., but it was a smaller bird. The skull is diagnosed by its overall smaller size, a proportionately longer apertura nasi ossea, and potentially by a shorter os supraocciptale. The humerus is diagnosed from both species by a proportionately less deep shaft, a more prominent medial portion of the epicondylus ventralis, and a larger and fusiform fossa medialis brachialis. The Tangahoe Formation is proving to be a remarkable source of marine vertebrate fossils and an important piece of the puzzle in understanding the evolution and biogeography of seabirds.

Ancient mitogenomes reveal evidence for the late Miocene dispersal of mergansers to the Southern Hemisphere

“…It remains possible that further extinct Mergini taxa will be discovered as scientists increasingly focus on Southern Hemisphere terrestrial and marine fossil localities (e.g. Tennyson & Mannering, 2018; Tennyson et al ., 2022; Tennyson & Salvador, 2023).…”

A New Diving Pliocene Ardenna Shearwater (Aves: Procellariidae) from New Zealand

“…We compared the new fossils to other procellariiforms, including representatives of all clades of living shearwaters, using specimens housed at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa; NMNZ, Wellington). We limited detailed comparisons to Puffinus and 'diving' species of Ardenna after initial morphological comparisons showed few similarities with larger 'gliding' species of shearwater (see [18]). Sexual size dimorphism was not considered as shearwaters show only limited differences, with males being larger on average [24][25][26].…”

“…Two extinct species of shearwater have been described from New Zealand: P. spelaeus from the Holocene [34] and A. davealleni from the Pliocene [18]. Neither closely resembles A. buchananbrowni sp.…”

“…All other extinct shearwaters clearly differ from A. buchananbrowni sp. nov. because they resemble either Calonectris or the gliding forms of Ardenna (see [18]). These fossils include Calonectris kurodai Olson, 2009…”

“…This situation has recently begun to change with the discovery of a globally important Pliocene seabird assemblage from Taranaki, Aotearoa New Zealand [18][19][20][21][22][23]. Procellariiforms from this locality already include Ardenna davealleni, a large gliding shearwater [18].…”