Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 390 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most charadriiform birds live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic (seabirds), others frequent deserts, and a few are found in dense forest. Members of this group can also collectively be referred to as shorebirds.
Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl (Galliformes) and the waterfowl (Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; together, they form the fowl clade which is scientifically known as Galloanserae or Galloanseres. This clade is also supported by morphological and DNA sequence data as well as retrotransposon presence/absence data.
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.
The stone-curlews, also known as dikkops or thick-knees, consist of 10 species within the family Burhinidae, and are found throughout the tropical and temperate parts of the world, with two or more species occurring in some areas of Africa, Asia, and Australia. Despite the group being classified as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semiarid habitats.
The screamers are three South American bird species placed in family Anhimidae. They were thought to be related to the Galliformes because of similar bills, but are more closely related to the family Anatidae, i.e. ducks and allies, and the magpie goose, within the clade Anseriformes. The clade is exceptional within the living birds in lacking uncinate processes of ribs. The three species are: The horned screamer ; the southern screamer or crested screamer ; and the northern screamer or black-necked screamer.
Vegavis is a genus of extinct bird that lived in Antarctica during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. The type species is Vegavis iaai. Vegavis was initially considered to be a member of Anseriformes within Galloanserae, but this claim has not been supported by some recent studies.
Neognathae is an infraclass of birds, called neognaths, within the class Aves of the clade Archosauria. Neognathae includes the majority of living birds; the exceptions being the tinamous and the flightless ratites, which belong instead to the sister taxon Palaeognathae. There are nearly 10,000 living species of neognaths.
Presbyornis is an extinct genus of presbyornithid bird from North America during the Paleogene period, between the Late Paleocene and Early Eocene.
John Alan Feduccia is a paleornithologist specializing in the origins and phylogeny of birds. He is S. K. Heninger Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina. Feduccia's authored works include three major books, The Age of Birds, The Origin and Evolution of Birds, and Riddle of the Feathered Dragons.
Anatalavis is genus of prehistoric birds related to ducks and geese, perhaps to the magpie-goose in particular. Alternatively, it might have been a more basal lineage of Anserimorphae distinct from the living waterfowl, similar or even related to the roughly contemporary Conflicto antarcticus from the Danian of Antarctica.
Teviornis is an extinct genus of presbyornithid which lived during the Maastrichtian stage, around 70 million years ago. One species has been described, T. gobiensis. It is the oldest known neognath and its fossils are collected from the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia.
The Saint Bathans mammal is a currently unnamed extinct primitive mammal from the Early Miocene of New Zealand. A member of the Saint Bathans fauna, it is notable for being a late-surviving "archaic" mammal species, neither a placental nor a marsupial. It also provides evidence that flightless fully terrestrial mammals did in fact once live in Zealandia. This is in contrast to modern New Zealand, where bats, cetaceans and seals are the only non-introduced mammals in the otherwise bird-dominated faunas.
The Tingamarra Fauna is associated with the early Eocene Murgon fossil site, and contains the earliest known non-flying eutherian, passerine, trionychidae turtles, mekosuchine crocodiles along with frogs, lungfish and teleost fish in Australia. The Murgon fossil site is located near Kingaroy in south-east Queensland.
Wilaru is an extinct genus of presbyornithid bird from Australia during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene, around 26-22 million years ago. The type species is Wilaru tedfordi, and the second species is Wilaru prideauxi.
The St Bathans fauna is found in the lower Bannockburn Formation of the Manuherikia Group of Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It comprises a suite of fossilised prehistoric animals from the late Early Miocene (Altonian) period, with an age range of 19–16 million years ago.
Manuherikia is a genus of extinct species of ducks from the Miocene of New Zealand. It was described from fossil material of the Saint Bathans Fauna, in the lower Bannockburn Formation of the Manuherikia Group, found by the Manuherikia River in the Central Otago region of the South Island. The genus name comes from the name of the geological formation in which the fossils were found and, ultimately, from the Manuherikia River and its valley.
The Manuherikia Group is a fluvial-lacustrine sedimentary fill in the Central Otago area of New Zealand, at the site of the prehistoric Lake Manuherikia. The area consists of a valley and ridge topography, with a series of schist-greywacke mountains at roughly ninety degrees to each other. The Manuherika Group occurs in the current basins, and occasionally on the mountains themselves.
The Odontoanserae is a proposed clade that includes the family Pelagornithidae and the clade Anserimorphae. The placement of the pseudo-toothed birds in the evolutionary tree of birds has been problematic, with some supporting the placement of them near the orders Procellariformes and Pelecaniformes based on features in the sternum.
Vegaviidae is an extinct family of birds of uncertain phylogenetic placement, which existed during the Late Cretaceous and possibly the Paleocene. Definitive fossils attributed to the family have only been found in Antarctica, though other fossils from the Southern Hemisphere including Chile and New Zealand may represent this group. The putative Campanian vegaviid from Canada known as Maaqwi, more likely belongs to the Procellariformes.
Telmabates is an extinct genus of presbyornithid bird from the Eocene Bird Clay Locality of the Sarmiento Formation of Chubut Province, Argentina. The genus contains a single species, T. antiquus.
