In 2008, Kazuhiko Sakurai, Masaichi Kimura and Takayuki Katoh described the new genus and species Hokkaidornis abashiriensis, using as holotype the specimen AMP 44, a semi-complete skeleton lacking the skull.

[1] The genus name, Hokkaidornis, is constructed from Hokkaido, the island in which the holotype was discovered, and the ancient Greek suffix -ornis, meaning "bird".

The species name, abashiriensis, refers to the town of Abashiri, near which it was found; the city name itself meaning "to be discovered in rock" in the native Ainu language.

That development may indicate that Hokkaidornis was not only adapted towards wing-propelled swimming like most other plotopterids, but also able to propel itself through water with its hindlimbs, a characteristic also present in its relative Olympidytes.

[3] The preservation of ripple marks on sandstones found in the vicinity of the holotype and the presence of the bivalves Periploma yokoyamai and Yoldia, the gastropod Turritella and the scaphopod Dentalium in association with the specimen indicates that Hokkaidornis lived in a shallow marine environment.