| Prophaethon Temporal range: Early Eocene,
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Phaethontiformes |
| Family: | †Prophaethontidae |
| Genus: | †Prophaethon |
| Species: | †P. shrubsolei
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| Binomial name | |
| †Prophaethon shrubsolei Andrews, 1899
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Prophaethon is an extinct genus of seabird that lived during the Early Eocene (Ypresian, c.56-49 mya). As indicated by its generic name, it is a distant relative of the tropicbirds.
Distribution
The type species, P. shrubsolei, is essentially known from a holotype specimen consisting of fairly comprehensive fossil remains of a single individual, namely a skull and some limb bones, which were recovered from the London Clay on the Isle of Sheppey, England.1 Since its initial description, more remains of P. shrubsolei were described by Gerald Mayr, having been found at Walton-on-the-Naze, also in the London Clay.2 A second species, P. waltonensis, has also been described from fossil remains hailing from Walton-on-the-Naze.3
References
References
- Andrews, Chas. W. (1899). "On the Remains of a new Bird from the London Clay of Sheppey". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 67 (3): 776–785. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1899.tb06889.x. hdl:2027/njp.32101055916900.
- Mayr, Gerald (January 2015). Voelker, Gary (ed.). "New remains of the Eocene Prophaethon and the early evolution of tropicbirds (Phaethontiformes)". Ibis. 157 (1): 54–67. doi:10.1111/ibi.12214. ISSN 0019-1019. Retrieved 4 March 2025 – via Wiley Online Library.
- Mayr, Gerald; Kitchener, Andrew C. (29 October 2024). "A new species of the Prophaethontidae (Aves, Phaethontiformes) from the early Eocene London Clay". Historical Biology: 1–8. doi:10.1080/08912963.2024.2418895. ISSN 0891-2963. Retrieved 4 March 2025 – via Taylor and Francis Online.