Scofield, Richard PaulWorthy, Trevor HenryTennyson, Alan J. D.2013-04-092013-04-092010Record of the Australian Museum, 2010; 62(1):89-1040067-1975http://hdl.handle.net/2440/76712We describe a fossil heron, based on seven fossil bones, from the Early Miocene Bannockburn Formation at Saint Bathans, Central Otago in the south of New Zealand. Based on a phylogenetic analysis of 50 morphological characters, we determine the new heron is a member of Ardeidae but, in an analysis where we retrieve three major lineages in Ardeidae: (1) bitterns, (2) egrets and true herons, and (3) night herons, there is no support for a sister group relationship with any of these clades. We discuss aspects of the higher taxonomy of the herons based on our phylogeny.en© The Authors, 2010.Journal article002012225710.3853/j.0067-1975.62.2010.1542