Colymboides fossil map
Where fossils of Colymboides have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 30 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 30 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 | 33.9–13.82 million years ago (Rupelian to Langhian) |
| Periods | Paleogene, Neogene |
| Family | Gaviidae |
| Named by | Milne-Edwards 1867 |
| Fossil records | 4 occurrences at 4 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, Germany, Belgium, France |
| Rock formations | txn:39707, Pungo River, Borgloon |
About Colymboides
The genus Colymboides contains three species of early loon dating from the late Oligocene or early Miocene. They are considered to be the earliest known unambiguous gaviiform fossils. The genus is widely known from early Priabonian – about 37 million years ago in the Late Eocene – to Early Miocene (late Burdigalian, less than 20 million years ago) limnic and marine rocks of western Eurasia north of the Alpide belt, between the Atlantic and the former Turgai Sea. It is usually placed in the Gaviidae already, but usually in a subfamily Colymboidinae, with the modern-type loons making up the Gaviinae. But the Colymboides material is generally quite distinct from modern loons, and may actually belong in a now-extinct family of primitive gaviiforms. The best studied species, Colymboides minutus, was described by Robert Storer as being much smaller than modern loons and not as well adapted to diving.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Colymboides (revision 1380559951), 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: Q3683880.
