Evolution and Prehistoric Species
While the Razorbill is the only living species, the genus Alca had a much higher diversity in the Pliocene. Some ornithologists also feel it is appropriate to retain the Great Auk in the genus Alca, instead of Pinguinus. A number of fossil forms have been found:
- Alca "antiqua" (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA)
- Alca sp. (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA) - possibly A. stewarti
- Alca stewarti (Kattendijk Sands Early Pliocene of Belgium)
- Alca ausonia (Yorktown Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA - Middle Pliocene of Italy)
- Alca sp. (Puerto de Mazarrón Pliocene of El Alamillo, Spain) - may be A. antiqua or A. ausonia
As far as is known, the genus Alca seems to have evolved in the western North Atlantic or the present-day Caribbean like most other Alcini. Its ancestors would have reached these waters through the still-open Isthmus of Panama during the Miocene.
Read more about this topic: Razorbill
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