Prophaethon

Prophaethon Temporal range: Early Eocene, 56–49 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Phaethontiformes
Family:	Prophaethontidae
Genus:	Prophaethon
Species:	P. shrubsolei (and see text)
Binomial name
Prophaethon shrubsolei Andrews, C.W. 1899[1]

Prophaethon is an extinct genus of seabird that lived during the Early Eocene (Ypresian, c.56-49 mya). It is essentially known from fairly comprehensive remains of a single individual, namely skull and some limb bones, which were recovered from the London Clay on the Isle of Sheppey, England. Some more indeterminable remains from the Late Paleocene of Maryland (USA) might also belong here. Thus, the genus contains only a single species, Prophaethon shrubsolei. As indicated by its name, it is a distant relative of the tropicbirds.

References

1. Andrews, C.W. (1899) On the remains of a new bird from the London Clay of Sheppey. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 67: 776–785.