Copepteryx
Encyclopedia
Copepteryx is an extinct genus
of flightless bird
of the family Plotopteridae
endemic to Japan
during the Oligocene
living from 28.4—23 mya, existing for approximately .
Copepteryx is a plotopterid
bird
.
by Olson and Hasegawa (1996).
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flightless bird
Flightless bird
Flightless birds are birds which lack the ability to fly, relying instead on their ability to run or swim. They are thought to have evolved from flying ancestors. There are about forty species in existence today, the best known being the ostrich, emu, cassowary, rhea, kiwi, and penguin...
of the family Plotopteridae
Plotopteridae
Plotopteridae is the name of an extinct family of flightless seabirds from the order Pelecaniformes. Related to the gannets and boobies, they exhibited remarkable convergent evolution with the penguins, particularly with the now extinct giant penguins...
endemic to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
during the Oligocene
Oligocene
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
living from 28.4—23 mya, existing for approximately .
Copepteryx is a plotopterid
Plotopteridae
Plotopteridae is the name of an extinct family of flightless seabirds from the order Pelecaniformes. Related to the gannets and boobies, they exhibited remarkable convergent evolution with the penguins, particularly with the now extinct giant penguins...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
.
Taxonomy
Copepteryx was named by Olson and Hasegawa (1996). Its type is Copepteryx hexeris. It was assigned to PlotopteridaePlotopteridae
Plotopteridae is the name of an extinct family of flightless seabirds from the order Pelecaniformes. Related to the gannets and boobies, they exhibited remarkable convergent evolution with the penguins, particularly with the now extinct giant penguins...
by Olson and Hasegawa (1996).