Pseudotooth Bird
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The Pelagornithidae, commonly called pelagornithids, pseudodontorns, bony-toothed birds, false-toothed birds or pseudotooth birds, are a
prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins  million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of large
seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...
s. Their
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
remains have been found all over the world in rocks dating between the
Early Paleocene The Danian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Paleocene Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series, of the Paleogene Period or system (stratigraphy), System, and of the Cenozoic Era or Erathem. The beginnin ...
and the
Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
boundary. Most of the common names refer to these birds' most notable trait: tooth-like points on their beak's edges, which, unlike true
teeth A tooth (: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...
, contained
Volkmann's canals Volkmann's canals, also known as perforating holes or channels, are anatomic arrangements in cortical bones that allow blood vessels to enter the bones from periosteum. They interconnect the Haversian canals (running inside osteons) with each oth ...
and were outgrowths of the
premaxilla The premaxilla (or praemaxilla) is one of a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw of many animals, usually, but not always, bearing teeth. In humans, they are fused with the maxilla. The "premaxilla" of therian mammals h ...
ry and
mandibular In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...
bones. Even "small"
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of pseudotooth birds were the size of
albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Paci ...
es; the largest ones had
wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...
s estimated at 5–6 metres (15–20 ft) and were among the largest flying birds ever to live. They were the dominant seabirds of most oceans throughout most of the
Cenozoic The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...
, and modern
human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
s apparently missed encountering them only by a tiny measure of
evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
ary time: the last known pelagornithids were contemporaries of ''
Homo habilis ''Homo habilis'' ( 'handy man') is an extinct species of archaic human from the Early Pleistocene of East and South Africa about 2.4 million years ago to 1.65 million years ago ( mya). Upon species description in 1964, ''H. habilis'' was highly ...
'' and the beginning of the
history of technology The history of technology is the history of the invention of tools and techniques by humans. Technology includes methods ranging from simple stone tools to the complex genetic engineering and information technology that has emerged since the 19 ...
.


Description and ecology

The biggest of the pseudotooth birds were the largest flying birds known. Almost all of their remains from the
Neogene The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...
are immense, but in the
Paleogene The Paleogene Period ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Ma. It is the fir ...
there were a number of pelagornithids that were around the size of a
great albatross The great albatrosses are seabirds in the genus ''Diomedea'' in the albatross family (biology), family. The genus ''Diomedea'' formerly included all albatrosses except the sooty albatrosses, but in 1996 the genus was split, with the mollymawks a ...
(
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''Diomedea'') or even a bit smaller. The undescribed species provisionally called "''
Odontoptila inexpectata ''Odontoptila'' is a monotypic moth genus in the family Geometridae The geometer moths are moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously cl ...
''" – from the
Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...
-
Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
boundary of
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
– is the smallest pseudotooth bird discovered to date and was just a bit larger than a
white-chinned petrel The white-chinned petrel (''Procellaria aequinoctialis'') also known as the Cape hen and shoemaker, is a large shearwater in the family Procellariidae. It ranges around the Southern Ocean as far north as southern Australia, Peru and Namibia, and ...
(''Procellaria aequinoctialis''). The Pelagornithidae had extremely thin-walled bones widely
pneumatized Skeletal pneumaticity is the presence of air spaces within bones. It is generally produced during development by excavation of bone by pneumatic diverticula (air sacs) from an air-filled space, such as the lungs or nasal cavity. Pneumatization is h ...
with the air sac extensions of the
lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...
. Most limb bone fossils are very much crushed for that reason. In life, the thin bones and extensive pneumatization enabled the birds to achieve large size while remaining below critical
wing loading In aerodynamics, wing loading is the total weight of an aircraft or flying animal divided by the area of its wing. The stalling speed, takeoff speed and landing speed of an aircraft are partly determined by its wing loading. The faster an airc ...
s. Though 25 kg/m2 (5 lb/ft2) is regarded as the maximum wing loading for powered bird flight, there is evidence that bony-toothed birds used
dynamic soaring Dynamic soaring is a flying technique used to gain energy by repeatedly crossing the boundary between air masses of different velocity. Such zones of wind gradient are generally found close to obstacles and close to the surface, so the technique is ...
flight almost exclusively: the
proximal Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
end of the
humerus The humerus (; : humeri) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius (bone), radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extrem ...
had an elongated diagonal shape that could hardly have allowed for the movement necessary for the typical flapping flight of birds; their weight thus cannot be easily estimated. The attachment positions for the muscles responsible for holding the upper arm straightly outstretched were particularly well-developed, and altogether the
anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
seems to allow for an ability of holding the wings rigidly at the
glenoid The glenoid fossa of the scapula or the glenoid cavity is a bone part of the shoulder. The word ''glenoid'' is pronounced or (both are common) and is from , "socket", reflecting the shoulder joint's ball-and-socket form. It is a shallow, pyrif ...
joint unmatched by any other known bird. This is especially prominent in the Neogene pelagornithids, and less developed in the older Paleogene forms. The
sternum The sternum (: sternums or sterna) or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major bl ...
had the deep and short shape typical of dynamic soarers, and bony outgrowths at the
keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...
's forward margin securely anchored the
furcula The (Latin for "little fork"; : furculae) or wishbone is a forked bone found in most birds and some species of non-avian dinosaurs, and is either an interclavicle or formed by the fusion of the two clavicles. In birds, its primary function is ...
. The legs were proportionally short, the feet probably webbed and the
hallux Toes are the digits of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plantigrade''; ...
was vestigial or entirely absent; the
tarsometatarsi The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is only found in the lower leg of birds and some non-avian dinosaurs. It is formed from the fusion of several bird bones found in other types of animals, and homologous to the mammalian tarsus (ankle bones) an ...
(anklebones) resembled those of
albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Paci ...
es while the arrangement of the front toes was more like in
fulmar The fulmars are tube-nosed seabirds in the family Procellariidae. The family includes two extant species, and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene. Fulmars superficially resemble gulls, but are readily distinguished by their flight on s ...
s. Typical for pseudotooth birds was a second toe that attached a bit kneewards from the others and was noticeably angled outwards. The "teeth" were probably covered by the
rhamphotheca The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and ca ...
in life, and there are two furrows running along the underside of the upper
bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...
just inside the ridges which bore the "teeth". Thus, when the bill was closed only the upper jaw's "teeth" were visible, with the lower ones hidden behind them. Inside the
eye socket In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket/hole of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents. In the adult human, the volume of the orbit is ...
s of at least some pseudotooth birds – perhaps only in the younger species – were well-developed
salt gland The salt gland is an organ (anatomy), organ for excreting excess salt (chemistry), salts. It is found in the cartilaginous fishes subclass elasmobranchii (sharks, rays, and skates), seabirds, and some reptiles. Salt glands can be found in the r ...
s. Altogether, almost no major body part of pelagornithids is known from a well-preserved associated fossil and most well-preserved material consists of single bones only; on the other hand the long occurrence and large size makes for a few rather comprehensive (though much crushed and distorted) remains of individual birds that were entombed by as they lay dead, complete with some fossilized
feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an exa ...
s. Large parts of the skull and some beak pieces are found not too infrequently. In February 2009, an almost-complete fossilized skull of a presumed ''
Odontopteryx ''Odontopteryx'' is a genus of the extinct pseudotooth birds or pelagornithids. These were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this u ...
'' from around the
Chasicoan The Chasicoan ( or ) age is a period of geologic time from 10–9 Ma within the Late Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Mayoan and precedes the Huayquerian age.
-
Huayquerian The Huayquerian () age is a period of geologic time (9.0–6.8 Ma) within the Late Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification. It follows the Chasicoan and precedes the Montehermosan age. Etymology T ...
boundary c. 9
million years ago Million years ago, abbreviated as Mya, Myr (megayear) or Ma (megaannum), is a unit of time equal to (i.e. years), or approximately 31.6 teraseconds. Usage Myr is in common use in fields such as Earth science and cosmology. Myr is also used w ...
(Ma) was unveiled in
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. It had been found a few months earlier in
Ocucaje District Ocucaje District is one of fourteen Districts of Peru, districts of the province Ica Province, Ica in Peru. Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática. Banco de Información Distrital''. Retrieved April 11, 2008. Climate References
of Ica Province,
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. According to
paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
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, who discovered the specimen, and his colleagues Rodolfo Salas, Ken Campbell and
Daniel T. Ksepka {{Short pages monitor * (2003): Early Miocene birds of Djebel Zelten, Libya. ''Časopis Národního muzea, Řada přírodovědná (J. Nat. Mus., Nat. Hist. Ser.)'' 172: 114–120
PDF fulltext
* (2009): Evolution of the Cenozoic marine avifaunas of Europe. ''Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums Wien A'' 111: 357–37
PDF fulltext
* (1985): The Fossil Record of Birds. ''In:'' : ''Avian Biology'' 8: 79–252
PDF fulltext
* (2001): Miocene and Pliocene Birds from the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina. ''In:'' : Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina III. ''Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology'' 90: 233–307
PDF fulltext
* * * (PD)
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br>Taxonomic name search form
Retrieved on 2009-AUG-11. * (1999): ''The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals''. Marshall Editions, London. * * (2001): The Neogene Sharks, Rays, and Bony Fishes from Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina. ''In:'' : Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina III. ''Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology'' 90: 71–202
PDF fulltext
* * (2003): Primer registro de la familia Pelagornithidae (Aves: Pelecaniformes) para Venezuela irst record of Pelagornithidae family from Venezuela ''Boletín de la Sociedad Venezolana de Espeleología'' 37: 27–30 panish with English abstractbr>PDF fulltext
* *
Supplementary Notes
* * *
009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight ...
br>2007: a good year for terror birds and mega-ducks
Version of March 14-MAR-2009. Retrieved 2009-AUG-11. * (1980) Un pseudodontornitido elecaniformes, Odontopterygiade gran tamaño, del Terciario temprano de Antártida. A large-sized pseudotooth bird from the Early Tertiary of Antarctica" ''Ameghiniana'' 17(3): 273–276 panish with English abstractbr>HTML abstract
* (1985): Nuevos restos de Odontopterygia (Aves: Pelecaniformes) del Terciario temprano de Antártida New pseudotooth bird remains from the Early Tertiary of Antarctica" ''Ameghiniana'' 21(2–4): 121–124 panish with English abstractbr>HTML abstract
* (2005): ''Digital Nomenclator Zoologicus'', version 0.86 3: 387
PDF fulltext
* (2000): Big-chested birds – exciting new avian material from the Neogene of Chile. Talk held at the 48th Annual Symposium of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy, 1 September 2000, Portsmouth, UK
HTML abstract
* * * (2001): The seabird fossil record and the role of paleontology in understanding seabird community structure. ''In:'' : ''Biology of marine birds'': 17–55. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, US. Excerpt
at
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* (1918): The Relationships of the Fossil Bird ''Palaeochenoides mioceanus''. '' J. Geol.'' 25(6): 555–557
First page image
* (1956): A check-list of the fossil and prehistoric birds of North America and the West Indies. ''Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections'' 131(5): 1–105
Fulltext
at the
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* (1909): ''A Guide to the Fossil Mammals and Birds in the Department of Geology and Palaeontology of the British Museum (Natural History)'' (9th ed.). William Clowes and Sons Ltd., London
Fulltext
at the
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q143473 Danian first appearances Pleistocene extinctions Taxa named by Max Fürbringer Prehistoric bird families