 "P. aotearoa" is from the Early Miocene of New Zealand.Two distal right tibiotarsi collected in 2008 and 2009 from the Saint Bathans Fauna of the Bannockburn Formation, Manuherikia River, in central Otago, South Island were described in 2010 as the type specimens of the species.The specific epithet is a Māori language name for New Zealand.