Piscator (bird)

Piscator is a genus of extinct cormorant-like birds. One species, P. tenuirostris, has so far been described. The genus dates to the Priabonian of the Late Eocene.

Description
Piscator was similar to the extant phalacrocoracidae, a piscivorous family of aquatic birds. Remains were found in the Bracklesham Group in Hordle, England, which dates to the Priabonian, the last age of the Eocene epoch.

Taxonomy
The genus was introduced by Cyril A. Walker and Colin Harrison in 1976. It was placed in class Aves incertae sedis by Jiří Mlíkovský in 2002. The word piscator is Latin for "fisherman."

The type species, Piscator tenuirostris, is the oldest cormorant-like bird found in the fossil record. Other fossils may also represent species in this genus, but they have not been described as such, with some residing in private collections.