Palaelodidae is a family of extinct birds in the group Phoenicopteriformes, which today is represented only by the flamingos. They have been described as "swimming flamingos."
They can be considered evolutionarily, and ecologically, intermediate between flamingos and grebes.
Three genera are recognised:
†Adelalopus Mayr & Smith 2002 called the "stout-legged flamingos" (Borgloon Early Oligocene of Hoogbutsel, Belgium)†Adelalopus hoogbutseliensis Mayr & Smith 2002
†Palaelodus Milne-Edwards 1863 [Pliogrus Lambrecht 1933] (Middle Oligocene -? Middle Pleistocene)
†P. ambiguus Milne-Edwards 1863 [Grus problematica Milne-Edwards 1871; Probalearica problematica (Milne-Edwards 1871); Palaelodus gracilipes Milne-Edwards 1863; Palaelodus crassipes Milne-Edwards 1863; Paloelodus minutus (sic) Milne-Edwards 1868; Grus miocenicus Grigorescu & Kessler 1977]
†P. aotearoa Worthy et al. 2010
†P. germanicus (Lambrecht 1933) [Pliogrus germanicus Lambrecht 1933]
†P. kurochkini Zelenkov 2013
†P. pledgei Baird & Vickers-Rich 1998
†P. wilsoni Baird & Vickers-Rich 1998
†Megapaloelodus Miller 1944 (Late Oligocene - Early Pliocene)
†M. conectens (Miller 1944)
†M. peiranoi Agnolin 2009
†M. goliath (Milne Edwards 1863) Cheneval 1983c [Paloelodus goliath (sic) Milne-Edwards 1868]
†M. opsigonus Brodkorb 1961
