Ruth’s pseudotoothed bird was a small-sized pelagornithid that was described from a partial skeleton recovered from c. 62 million-year-old (early Paleocene) marine deposits along the Waipara River, North Canterbury.

As well as being the smallest known pelagornithid, Ruth’s pseudotoothed bird was the earliest (oldest) known member of the clade, and the first pre-Eocene pelagornithid reported from the Southern Hemisphere. Its post-cranial skeleton indicated that it was distinctly different from other pelagornithids, and likely represented a different branch of the family.

The holotype skull (CM 2018.124.9) is held at Canterbury Museum. Associated material (likely, but not conclusively, from the same specimen) includes most of the major limb bones. The fossil was collected by Leigh Love in November 2017, and is named after his wife Ruth Love. The genus name is a combination of proto (Greek), first, and Odontopteryx, one of the earliest names given to a pseudotoothed bird.

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Canterbury Museum

References

Mayr, G.; De Pietri, V.L.; Love, L.; Mannering, A. & Scofield, R.P. 2021. Oldest, smallest and phylogenetically most basal pelagornithid, from the early Paleocene of New Zealand, sheds light on the evolutionary history of the largest flying birds. Papers in Palaeontology 7: 217–233.

Recommended citation

Miskelly, C.M. 2022. Ruth's pseudotoothed bird. In Miskelly, C.M. (ed.) New Zealand Birds Online. www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz