Osteodontornis sp.

Partial right dentary with bony teeth

(scale: 2 cm)

Locality: Misato, Misato Village, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Horizon: Oi Formation, Ichishi Group (upper Lower Miocene)


This sea bird belongs to pseudodontorns (Order Pelecaniformes), and is thought to be ecologically similar to albatross. It is characterized by bony teeth of bone of both lower and upper jaws. In Japan, the pseudodontorns have been collected from the Lower Oligocene to Upper Pliocene.

Reference:
Matsuoka, H., Sakakura, F. and Ohe, F., 1998, A Miocene pseudodontorn (Pelecaniformes: Pelagornithidae) from the Ichishi Group of Misato, Mie Prefecture, central Japan. Paleontological Research, 2, 246-252.