 It is often claimed to be an ancestor of modern loons (divers), but some scientists have questioned this.Gerald Mayr, for example, noted that "Polarornis" differed from loons in some important characteristics, and criticized Chatterjee's original description of the fossils for overstating the specimen's completeness.Before the official description of the species, Alan Feduccia published an opinions casting doubt on its identification as a loon.