Photo: National Park Service, Fossil Butte National Monument
- Order
- Lithornithiformes
- Family
- Lithornithidae
A long-legged, long-beaked wading bird from the shoreline of Fossil Lake.
P. cercanaxius had long legs and a long, narrow beak. It was likely a wading bird that inhabited the shoreline of Fossil Lake, using its long beak to search for insects and other invertebrates.
The wing and foot structure suggest that, unlike its living relatives in the superorder Paleognathae, P. cercanaxius was capable of sustained flight and perching.
Species text: National Park Service, Fossil Butte National Monument — Fossil Bird Species.