First diagnosable non-sphenisciform bird from the early Paleocene of New Zealand.

A new avian taxon from the early Paleocene Waipara Greensand in Canterbury, New Zealand, is described. The holotype ofAustralornis lovei, gen. et sp. nov. includes wing and pectoral girdle bones, which exhibit distinctive morphologies. Notable features are a very long crista deltopectoralis, a craniocaudally flattened shaft, and a large tuberculum dorsale of the humerus, as well as a ridge-like caudal surface of the proximal ulna. Although a well-founded assignment of the new species to any of the extant higher-level taxa is not possible, key morphological features of stem group Sphenisciformes (penguins) are absent inA.lovei. Other than penguins, the holotype ofA. loveirepresents one of the most significant records of a marine Paleocene bird from the Southern Hemisphere, and contributes to the emerging view that Neoaves were already diversified in the earliest Paleogene. Australornis http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:DBD4F0B3-CDB4-40DA-AEC7-44D0F88AB944 Australornis lovei http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D5CE55DD-12EF-46AB-A7D7-E36D0B0C73BF [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]