Plotopteridae

Plotopteridae is an extinct family of flightless seabirds with uncertain placement, generally considered as member of order Suliformes. They exhibited remarkable convergent evolution with the penguins, particularly with the now extinct giant penguins. That they lived in the North Pacific, the other side of the world from the penguins, has led to them being described at times as the Northern Hemisphere's penguins, though they were not closely related. More recent studies have shown, however, that the shoulder-girdle, forelimb and sternum of plotopterids differ significantly from those of penguins, so comparisons in terms of function may not be entirely accurate. Plotopterids are regarded as closely related to Anhingidae (darters) and Phalacrocoracidae (cormorants). On the other hand, there is a theory that this group may have a common ancestor with penguins due to the similarity of forelimb and brain morphology. However, the endocast morphology of stem group Sphenisciformes differs from both Plotopteridae and modern penguins.

Their fossils have been found in California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Hokkaido, Tōhoku, Chūbu, Kyushu. They seem to have evolved on arctic islands during the mid-Eocene, spreading southwards with the formation of kelp forests They ranged in size from that of a large cormorant (such as a Brandt's cormorant), to very large size, with femur length two times longer than emperor penguin. They had shortened wings optimised for underwater wing-propelled pursuit diving (like penguins or the now extinct great auk), and a body skeleton similar to that of the darter. thumb|left|Tonsala hildegardae fossils The second species to be named from rocks along the eastern Pacific Ocean was Tonsala hildegardae from the late Oligocene lower part of the Pysht Formation in Washington State. More fossils of T. hildegardae have since been described and included some of the first known examples of borings made by the marine bone-eating worm Osedax in bird bones. The hallux was more similar to that of frigatebirds rather than that of darters, sulids and cormorants, suggesting they evolved from a highly aerial ancestor.