Aves

Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrate animals constituting the class Aves, characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the 5.5 cm (2.2 in) bee hummingbird to the 2.8 m common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 orders. More than half of the world's bird species are passerine or "perching" birds. Nearly all birds have wings whose development varies according to the life style of each species. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Birds are the only extant members of Dinosauria, and are a type of paravian theropods. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. The study of birds is called ornithology.

Aves

C. Robiller / naturlichter.de ( Hyla meridionalis ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
birdPBDB
Sits inside
ParavesPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Coelurosauria
Life habit
ground dwelling, solitaryPBDB, for Theropoda
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Theropoda
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Theropoda

Time the record covers

At least 154 million years on record.

The record covers at least 154.8 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 161.5 Mya to 0 Mya.

Middle Jurassic — about 0 of 12000 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 4 of 12000 occurrencesLate JurassicEarly Cretaceous — about 121 of 12000 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 189 of 12000 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 92 of 12000 occurrencesEocene — about 467 of 12000 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 226 of 12000 occurrencesMiocene — about 1048 of 12000 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 591 of 12000 occurrencesPleistocene — about 5257 of 12000 occurrences165–159 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences159–154 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences154–148 Mya — about 2 occurrences148–143 Mya — about 1 occurrence143–137 Mya — about 5 occurrences137–132 Mya — about 4 occurrences132–126 Mya — about 2 occurrences126–121 Mya — about 38 occurrences121–115 Mya — about 30 occurrences115–110 Mya — about 18 occurrences110–104 Mya — about 14 occurrences104–99 Mya — about 12 occurrences99–93 Mya — about 10 occurrences93–88 Mya — about 4 occurrences88–82 Mya — about 11 occurrences82–77 Mya — about 32 occurrences77–71 Mya — about 41 occurrences71–66 Mya — about 89 occurrences66–60 Mya — about 23 occurrences60–55 Mya — about 96 occurrences55–49 Mya — about 121 occurrences49–44 Mya — about 74 occurrences44–38 Mya — about 89 occurrences38–33 Mya — about 174 occurrences33–27 Mya — about 103 occurrences27–22 Mya — about 129 occurrences22–16 Mya — about 270 occurrences16–11 Mya — about 342 occurrences11–5.5 Mya — about 395 occurrences5.5–0 Mya — about 9867 occurrences154.8 Mya11.7 ka165 Mya0 Mya

12,000+ occurrences of Aves on record. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

12,000 occurrences read

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. The read hit its cap, so every figure above is a floor and the shares are of the occurrences read. More on what this infers.

Found in

at least 524 formations

San Diego — 32.80°N, 117.26°WSan Diego — 32.90°N, 117.10°WSan Diego — 32.74°N, 117.17°WSan Diego — 32.71°N, 117.08°WSan Diego — 32.57°N, 117.03°WSan Diego — 32.77°N, 117.20°WSan Diego — 32.76°N, 117.13°WSan Diego — 32.74°N, 117.05°WSan Diego — 32.53°N, 117.05°WYorktown — 35.36°N, 76.82°WHillgrove — 45.13°S, 170.97°EBannockburn — 44.91°S, 169.86°EBannockburn — 44.89°S, 169.84°EBannockburn — 44.88°S, 169.75°EVarswater — 32.98°S, 18.15°EVarswater — 31.92°S, 21.52°EVarswater — 33.67°S, 18.43°EVarswater — 33.00°S, 18.00°ETamiami — 27.34°N, 82.51°WTamiami — 27.78°N, 82.68°WTamiami — 27.37°N, 82.45°WPisco — 15.58°S, 74.72°WPisco — 15.44°S, 74.87°WPisco — 14.56°S, 75.67°WPisco — 15.50°S, 74.80°WPisco — 15.55°S, 74.80°WPisco — 15.67°S, 74.54°WPisco — 14.33°S, 75.90°WLa Meseta — 64.25°S, 56.72°WLa Meseta — 64.24°S, 56.65°WLa Meseta — 64.24°S, 56.65°WMonterey — 33.56°N, 117.71°WMonterey — 34.95°N, 120.14°WMonterey — 34.61°N, 120.44°WTemblor — 35.30°N, 118.50°WTemblor — 35.46°N, 118.92°WTemblor — 36.54°N, 120.55°WSanta Cruz — 50.00°S, 70.00°WSanta Cruz — 51.02°S, 69.15°WSanta Cruz — 51.20°S, 69.12°WSanta Cruz — 50.23°S, 72.37°WSanta Cruz — 47.50°S, 71.88°WSanta Cruz — 51.58°S, 69.23°WSanta Cruz — 51.05°S, 69.13°WSanta Cruz — 50.35°S, 68.95°WSanta Cruz — 50.35°S, 69.03°WSanta Cruz — 50.50°S, 72.25°WSanta Cruz — 50.75°S, 69.18°WSanta Cruz — 50.55°S, 69.22°WWillwood — 43.03°N, 108.38°WWillwood — 44.30°N, 109.00°WWillwood — 44.37°N, 108.67°WWillwood — 44.60°N, 108.32°WWillwood — 44.59°N, 108.41°WWillwood — 44.65°N, 108.54°WWillwood — 44.52°N, 108.58°WWillwood — 44.65°N, 108.90°WWillwood — 44.63°N, 108.92°WWillwood — 44.52°N, 108.70°WWillwood — 44.68°N, 108.73°WWillwood — 44.60°N, 108.79°WWillwood — 44.65°N, 108.77°WWillwood — 44.45°N, 108.43°WWillwood — 44.30°N, 108.07°WWillwood — 45.00°N, 109.05°WWillwood — 44.42°N, 108.15°WWillwood — 44.78°N, 108.97°WWillwood — 44.77°N, 109.08°WWillwood — 44.50°N, 108.00°WWillwood — 44.32°N, 108.02°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.60°N, 117.80°WPalos Verdes Sand — 34.00°N, 118.20°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.99°N, 118.45°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.66°N, 117.90°WSan Pedro — 33.75°N, 118.28°WSan Pedro — 34.03°N, 118.53°WCalvert — 37.93°N, 77.51°WCalvert — 37.77°N, 77.28°WCalvert — 37.77°N, 77.37°WCalvert — 37.66°N, 77.11°WCalvert — 38.54°N, 76.73°WCalvert — 38.55°N, 76.52°WCalvert — 37.97°N, 76.79°WCalvert — 38.17°N, 76.87°WCalvert — 38.17°N, 76.85°WCalvert — 38.42°N, 76.62°WCalvert — 38.18°N, 76.97°WCalvert — 39.20°N, 75.60°WCalvert — 38.62°N, 76.51°WOkeechobee — 27.53°N, 80.47°WAlachua — 29.70°N, 82.60°WAlachua — 29.10°N, 82.30°WAlachua — 29.55°N, 82.52°WAlachua — 29.65°N, 82.60°WBermont — 27.70°N, 82.50°WWicomico — 29.42°N, 82.22°WWicomico — 29.60°N, 82.42°Wfacies à Congeria — 45.05°N, 7.93°EGabal Silsila — 24.77°N, 32.95°EGabal Silsila — 24.43°N, 32.95°EOlduvai — 2.99°S, 35.35°EOlduvai — 2.98°S, 34.32°EOlduvai — 2.98°S, 35.37°ESubmeseta — 64.25°S, 56.62°WMonte Hermoso — 38.00°S, 61.00°WMonte Hermoso — 38.97°S, 61.70°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Aves has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. The read hit its cap, so each count is a floor. 500 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 9,050 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Found in the same rock

3,402 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records at least 825 sites for Aves, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

at least 1,520 references

Each of the 12,000 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. That read hit its cap, so each count is a floor. 1,508 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Aves

Credit
C. Robiller / naturlichter.de ( Hyla meridionalis )
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
not stated by the source
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Aves sp. · dpc:21586

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itParaves through timeThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Linnaeus 1758)