Patagornis fossil map
Where fossils of Patagornis 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 | 20.45–13.82 million years ago (Burdigalian to Langhian) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Phorusrhacidae |
| Named by | Moreno and Mercerat 1891 |
| Fossil records | 7 occurrences at 6 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Argentina |
| Rock formations | Santa Cruz, Cerro Boleadoras |
About Patagornis
Patagornis is a genus of phorusrhacid ("terror bird"), an extinct clade of flightless birds, that lived in present-day Argentina during the Miocene age of the Neogene period. The taxonomic history of the genus is long and convoluted. It was described by Argentine paleontologists Francisco Moreno and Alcides Mercerat in 1891. The genus contains one species, P. marshi, named based on a premaxilla (frontmost beak bone) fragment and some incomplete postcranial remains. These fossils were unearthed by an expedition to strata (rock layers) of the Santa Cruz Formation in Santa Cruz Province, southern Argentina. This formation dates to the early-mid section of the Miocene, which makes it around 17.5 to 11.6 million years old. Also in 1891, Moreno's scientific rival, Argentine naturalist Florentino Ameghino, named his own genus and species, Tolmodus inflatus, on the basis of a premaxilla fragment as well. Ameghino also described several well-preserved specimens of Patagornis. After realizing that they came from the same taxon, paleontologists still opted to use the name Tolmodus over Patagornis despite the fact that, according to the rules of the ICZN, Patagornis marshi was the correct name. In 2003, Brazilian paleontologist Herculano Alvarenga and German paleontologist Elizabeth Höfling revalidated Patagornis as the correct name. Although, some scientists still use Tolmodus instead.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Patagornis (revision 1381327248), 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: Q1866161.
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