Larus perpetuus

†Larus perpetuus
Temporal range: Pliocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Larus
Species:
†L. perpetuus
Binomial name
†Larus perpetuus
Emslie, 1995

Larus perpetuus is an extinct species of gull that lived in North America during the Pliocene.[1]

Etymology

The genus name Larus derives from Ancient Greek, referring to a seabird. The species name perpetuus derives from Latin, meaning constant or forever, referencing the "long fossil history of this species."[1]

Description

Larus perpetuus specimens stem from Sarasota County, Florida (Late Pliocene), and Beaufort County, North Carolina (Early Pliocene).[1] Its bone structure most closely resembles the black-tailed gull (Larus crassirostris), ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis), and Audouin's gull (Ichthyaetus audouinii; formerly Larus audouinii).[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Emslie, Steven D. (1995). "A Catastrophic Death Assemblage of a New Species of Cormorant and Other Seabirds from the Late Pliocene of Florida". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 15 (2): 313–330. ISSN 0272-4634.