Pelecanoides fossil map
Where fossils of Pelecanoides 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 | 18.7 million years ago to the present (Burdigalian to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Procellariidae |
| Named by | Lacépède 1799 |
| Fossil records | 45 occurrences at 23 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), French Southern Territories |
| Rock formations | txn:39695, Hillgrove, Bannockburn, Varswater, Double Corner Shell Beds |
About Pelecanoides
The diving petrels form a genus, Pelecanoides, of seabirds in the family Procellariidae. There are four very similar species of diving petrels, distinguished only by small differences in the coloration of their plumage, habitat, and bill construction. They are only found in the southern hemisphere. The diving petrels were formerly placed in their own family, the Pelecanoididae.
Diving petrels are auk-like small petrels of the southern oceans. The resemblances with the auks are due to convergent evolution, since both families feed by pursuit diving, although some researchers have in the past suggested that the similarities are due to relatedness. Among the Procellariiformes the diving petrels are the family most adapted to life in the sea rather than flying over it, and are generally found closer inshore than other families in the order.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Diving petrel (revision 1378926523), 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: Q539433.
