Pandion fossil map
Where fossils of Pandion have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 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 0 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 million years ago to the present (Rupelian to Holocene) |
| Periods | Paleogene, Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Pandionidae |
| Named by | Savigny 1809 |
| Fossil records | 17 occurrences at 15 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, Egypt, Bahamas, New Caledonia, Ethiopia, Mexico, France |
| Rock formations | txn:39328, Gabal Silsila, Gebel Silsila-YCS, Yorktown, Jebel Qatrani, Alachua |
About Pandion
Pandion is a genus of fish-eating bird of prey, known as ospreys, the only genus of the family Pandionidae. The genus Pandion is named for the mythical Greek figure of the same name. Some taxonomic arrangements place it alongside the hawks and eagles in the family Accipitridae — which itself can be regarded as making up the bulk of the order Accipitriformes — or else allied with the Falconidae into Falconiformes. The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy has placed it together with the other diurnal raptors in a greatly enlarged Ciconiiformes, but this results in an unnatural paraphyletic classification.
Most taxonomic treatments have regarded this genus as containing a single living species, separated into subspecies and found worldwide near water, while some treatments recognize two living species, splitting off the eastern osprey (Pandion (haliaetus) cristatus) from Australia and southeast Asia.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Pandion (bird) (revision 1333086428), 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: Q3893145.
