Clymenoptilon fossil map
Where fossils of Clymenoptilon have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 56 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 56 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Prehistoric birds |
|---|---|
| Lived | 61.66–56 million years ago (Selandian to Thanetian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Named by | Mayr et al. 2023 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | New Zealand |
| Rock formations | Waipara Greensand |
About Clymenoptilon
Clymenoptilon is an extinct genus of phaethontiform bird related to modern tropicbirds. It contains a single species, C. novaezealandicum from the Paleocene-aged Waipara Greensand of New Zealand. Its name references Clymene, the mother of Phaethon in Greek mythology.
It is known from a partial skeleton with a nearly complete skull. It is the earliest known phaethontiform from the Southern Hemisphere (living only a few million years after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event), suggesting that the group may have originated in Zealandia. It lived alongside the early pseudotooth bird Protodontopteryx, also one of the oldest representatives of its order.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Clymenoptilon (revision 1380012825), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q122653278.
