Pikaihao fossil map
Where fossils of Pikaihao 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 | Ardeidae |
| Named by | Worthy et al. 2013 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | New Zealand |
| Rock formations | Bannockburn |
About Pikaihao
Pikaihao bartlei, also referred to as Bartle's bittern or the Saint Bathans bittern, is a genus and species of prehistoric small bittern from the Early Miocene of New Zealand. It was described in 2013 from fossil material (a left tarsometatarsus and a cranial part left coracoid) found in the Saint Bathans Fauna of the Bannockburn Formation, at Home Hills Station in the Manuherikia River valley of Otago, South Island. It was a contemporary of the much larger Saint Bathans heron, remains of which have been found in the same sediments. The genus name Pikaihao comes from the Māori pi (a prefix for small birds or chicks) and kaihao (“fisherman”). The specific epithet honours Sandy Bartle, Curator of Birds at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa from 1976 to 2009.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Pikaihao (revision 1341564694), 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: Q18166347.
