Nelepsittacus fossil map
Where fossils of Nelepsittacus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 15 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 15 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 | 18.7–15.9 million years ago (Burdigalian to Langhian) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Strigopidae |
| Named by | Worthy et al. 2011 |
| Fossil records | 10 occurrences at 2 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | New Zealand |
| Rock formations | Bannockburn |
About Nelepsittacus
Nelepsittacus is a genus of extinct New Zealand parrots that is closely related to the genus Nestor (the living kākā and kea). It consists of four species, of which three have been named so far. The species are all known from the early Miocene Saint Bathans Fauna from the Lower Bannockburn Formation in Otago in New Zealand.
Features in their skeletons, namely the coracoid, humerus, tibiotarsus, and tarsometatarsus, that they share only with the Nestor parrots link them to that genus.
Flora from the Saint Bathans fauna fossil beds indicate these parrots were found in a subtropical rainforest habitat. Following the early to mid Miocene, there was a drop in temperature, which led to a loss of local flora and fauna. This loss of native Nelepsittacus parrots likely spurred the proliferation of Cyanoramphus parrots, a more recent migrant from the southwest Pacific.
The largest known fossil species of parrot, Heracles inexpectatus, was described in 2019 from bones also identified as early Miocene St Bathans fauna. The generic epithet Heracles was named as an allusion to this genus, in one mythic tradition the Greek hero Herakles slew the king Neleus.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Nelepsittacus (revision 1324889296), 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: Q1216262.
