A new fulmarine petrel (Aves : Procellariiformes) from the Upper Miocene of the Western Mediterranean

A new sea bird, Pterodromoides minoricensis gen. et sp. nov., similar in si ze and proportions to species of the modern genus Pterodroma, is described from Late Miocene breccias situated on the north-west coast of Menorca. The cranial osteology is similar to that of fulmarine petrels, but the large o rbitonasal opening and characters of the postcranial skeleton justify its c lassification as a separate genus. At least one other species of procellari id occurs in the accompanying fossil asemblage, suggesting that Late Tertia ry ecological conditions favoured sea bird populations in this area of the Mediterranean.