Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Rank Family | Scientific name Phoenicopteridae Higher classification Phoenicopteriformes | |
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Order Phoenicopteriformes
Fürbringer, 1888 Height Greater flamingo: 1.1 – 1.5 m Mass Greater flamingo: 2 – 4 kg Similar Bird, Greater flamingo, Phoenicopteriformes, American flamingo, Ciconiiformes | ||
Know and see the pictures on the bird phoenicopteridae
Phoenicopteridae is a wading bird family including flamingos and their close extinct relatives.
Contents
Flamingos and their relatives are well attested in the fossil record, with the first unequivocal member of the Phoenicopteridae, Elornis known from the late Eocene epoch. A considerable number of little-known birds from the Late Cretaceous onwards are sometimes considered to be flamingo ancestors. These include the genera Torotix, Scaniornis, Gallornis, Agnopterus, Tiliornis, Juncitarsus, and Kashinia; these show a mix of characters and are fairly plesiomorphic in comparison to modern birds. (The supposed "Cretaceous flamingo" Parascaniornis is actually a synonym of Baptornis and not a close relative to any living bird.) An extinct family of peculiar "swimming flamingos", the Palaelodidae, are believed to be related to, or to be the ancestors of, the modern flamingos. This is sometimes rejected, since the fossil Elornis is known to be from some time before any palaelodid flamingos have been recorded.
Flamingo phoenicopteridae
Taxonomy
Compiled from the following websites: Extinct species assignment follows the Mikko's Phylogeny Archive and Paleofile.com websites. and subspecies names from English Names of Birds.
