Grebes are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes. Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Most grebes fly, although some flightless species exist, most notably in stable lakes. The order contains a single family, the Podicipedidae, which includes 22 species in six extant genera.
Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae, Anseranatidae, and Anatidae, the largest family, which includes over 170 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans. Most modern species in the order are highly adapted for an aquatic existence at the water surface. With the exception of screamers, males have penises, a trait that has been lost in the Neoaves. Due to their aquatic nature, most species are web-footed.
Phoenicopteriformes is a group of water birds which comprises flamingos and their extinct relatives. Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes) and the closely related grebes (Podicipedidae) are contained in the parent clade Mirandornithes.
Palaelodus is an extinct genus of bird of the Palaelodidae family, distantly related to flamingos. They were slender birds with long, thin legs and a long neck resembling their modern relatives, but likely lived very different livestyles. They had straight, conical beaks not suited for filter feeding and legs showing some similarities to grebes. Their precise lifestyle is disputed, with researchers in the past suggesting they may have been divers, while more recent research suggests they may have used their stiff toes as paddles for swimming while feeding on insect larvae and snails. This behavior may have been key in later phoenicopteriforms developing filterfeeding bills. The genus includes between five and eight species and is found across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and possibly South America. However some argue that most of the taxa named from Europe simply represent differently sized individuals of one single species. Palaelodus was most abundant during the Late Oligocene to Middle Miocene periods, but isolated remains from Australia indicate that the genus, or at least a relative, survived until the Pleistocene.
Megapaloelodus is an extinct genus of stem flamingo of the family Palaelodidae. Megapaloelodus is primarily known from Miocene America, from South Dakota and Oregon in the north to Argentina in the south, but the species Megapaloelodus goliath was found in Europe. Additionally, one unnamed species was discovered in Miocene sediments from Namibia. Due to a lack of skull material, little can be said about the ecology of Megapaloelodus. Species of this genus are typically larger than those of Palaelodus and appear to have inhabited similar brackish lake environments. Additionally, they may have been capable of "locking" their legs in a standing position.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1980.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1982.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1976.
Mirandornithes is a clade that consists of flamingos and grebes. Many scholars use the term Phoenicopterimorphae for the superorder containing flamingoes and grebes.
Palaelodidae is a family of extinct birds in the group Phoenicopteriformes, which today is represented only by the flamingos. They were widespread during the Neogene, with fossil remains found on all continents other than Antarctica. The oldest remains referred to this group appeared in the fossil record during the Oligocene in Egypt and Belgium, before palaelodids reached their peak diversity during the Miocene. Following this the group declined in the early Pliocene before going extinct on most continents. However, remains found near Cooper Creek in the Lake Eyre Basin indicate that palaelodids managed to survive in Australia until the Pleistocene. Currently three genera are recognized by scientists: Adelalopus, Palaelodus and Megapaloelodus. Most fossil remains stem from Europe and have been assigned to the type species, Palaelodus ambiguus. Due to the fragmentary nature of most of these species, little is known about their ecology. They appear to have preferred brackish lakes and lagoons. Palaelodus has previously been thought to be a wader or diver, but recent research indicates that they were better suited for swimming and possibly fed on insect larvae and other aquatic invertebrates. At least Megapaloelodus appears to have adaptations for "locking" their legs in a standing position.
Juncitarsus is an extinct genus of wading birds from the Eocene of the United States and Germany. Though previously considered a flamingo, it is likely a stem-flamingo, possibly a relative of the group which contains both flamingos and grebes (Mirandornithes).
Gavia egeriana is an extinct species of loon from the Miocene epoch, where the holotype was found in Dolnice, Czech Republic dating to the Burdigalian. The holotype consisted of two distal ends of the humeri bones. Other more completed material has been found in the Calvert Formation from the Chesapeake Group in the United States, with possible material from the Pungo River Formation from North Carolina. These material consist of the right coracoid and nearly two-thirds of a right ulna and date to the Langhian. G. egeriana was a very small species of loon and it was the earliest, possibly the ancestral species that gave raise to the other species in the genus.
Agnopterus is an extinct genus of stem-flamingo phoenicopteriform with fossil material from France, as well as possibly England, Kazakhstan, and Brazil. The holotype specimen for type species A. laurillardi is an incomplete distal tibiotarsus from Late Eocene gypsum from Paris; a coracoid, humeri, a scapula and perhaps a proximal femur have been recovered from Late Eocene to Early Oligocene of England to a possible second species, A. hantoniensis. Two additional species from the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene have been named as well. A. turgaiensis of Kazakhstan and A. sicki of Brazil. While all four species are considered to be close to the ancestry of flamingos, their exact relationships and placement as members of Agnopterus is uncertain.
Thiornis is a fossil genus of Middle Miocene grebe known from a nearly complete specimen from Libros, Spain. Originally classified as a type of moorhen, Thiornis has since been classified as a species of grebe. The overall anatomy of the bird is identical to modern grebes. It contains a single species, T. sociata.
Miodytes is a fossil genus of grebe known from a nearly complete specimen from Valjevo Basin, western Serbia known from an almost complete right wing skeleton. It contains a single species, M. serbicus.
Aechmophorus elasson is an extinct species of grebe recovered from the Piacenzian age of the United States.
Podiceps howardae is a possible extinct species of grebe from the United States, possibly a larger and earlier form of the horned grebe.
Podiceps miocenicus is an extinct species of large Late Miocene grebe from Moldova.
Podiceps solidus is an extinct small species of Upper Miocene to Lower Pliocene grebe from Western Mongolia.
Adelalopus is an extinct genus of palaelodid bird from the lowermost Oligocene of Belgium. It is the oldest member of its family and the largest known palaelodid from Europe, slightly larger than Megapaloelodus goliath. It contains a single species, Adelalopus hoogbutseliensis.
