Lonchodytes fossil map
Where fossils of Lonchodytes have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 66 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 66 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 | 72.2–66 million years ago (Maastrichtian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Named by | Brodkorb 1963 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | Lance |
About Lonchodytes
Lonchodytes is a Late Cretaceous genus of aquatic bird, which lived along the shores of the Western Interior Seaway. It lived probably during the Maastrichtian, 70 million years ago (mya), and was found in Lance Creek Formation rocks in Wyoming (United States) though it seems still somewhat unclear if it did fossilize there or was reworked from later (Danian: Early Paleocene, less than 65 mya) deposits.
Lonchodytes estesi, the type species, appears to be closely related to the ancestor of some modern birds. It is most often allied - albeit tentatively - with the Gaviiformes (loons/divers), Procellariiformes (tubenoses) or Pelecaniformes. It was found to be closer to Procellariiformes than to the other orders by a cladistic analysis.
These are today generally believed to be closely related if not actually a clade, perhaps together with other "higher waterbirds" such as penguins. L. estesi might be basal to some lineages among these three, and/or other "higher waterbirds", a hypothesis by and large compatible with current phylogenetic analyses based on morphological and DNA sequence data, as well as the Mesozoic record of Neornithes.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Lonchodytes (revision 1330874745), 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: Q6669671.
