Shoebill stork dinosaur skin#

The shoebill is a tall bird, with a typical height range of 110 to 140 cm (43 to 55 in) and some specimens reaching as much as 152 cm (60 in). All that is known of Eremopezus is that it was a very large, probably flightless bird with a flexible foot, allowing it to handle either vegetation or prey. It has been suggested that the enigmatic African fossil bird Eremopezus was a relative too, but the evidence for that is unconfirmed. So far, two fossilized relatives of the shoebill have been described: Goliathia from the early Oligocene of Egypt and Paludavis from the Early Miocene of the same country. A 2008 DNA study reinforces their membership among the Pelecaniformes. In 2003, the shoebill was again suggested as closer to the pelicans (based on anatomical comparisons) or the herons (based on biochemical evidence). Microscopic analysis of eggshell structure by Konstantin Mikhailov in 1995 found that the eggshells of shoebills closely resembled those of other Pelecaniformes in having a covering of thick microglobular material over the crystalline shells. Based on osteological evidence, the suggestion of a pelecaniform affinity was made in 1957 by Patricia Cottam. Traditionally considered as allied with the storks ( Ciconiiformes), it was retained there in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy which lumped a massive number of unrelated taxa into their 'Ciconiiformes'. Alternative common names are whalebill, shoe-billed stork and whale-headed stork. The genus name comes from the Latin words balaena 'whale', and caput 'head', abbreviated to -ceps in compound words. He placed the species in its own genus Balaeniceps and coined the binomial name Balaeniceps rex. Gould provided a more detailed description in the following year.

Shoebill stork dinosaur skin#

John Gould very briefly described it in 1850 from the skin of a specimen collected on the upper White Nile by the English traveller Mansfield Parkyns. The shoebill may have been known to Ancient Egyptians but was not classified until the 19th century, after skins and eventually live specimens were brought to Europe. Taxonomy Molecular studies have found the hamerkop to be the closest relative of the shoebill. It lives in tropical East Africa in large swamps from South Sudan to Zambia. The adult is mainly grey while the juveniles are more brown. However, genetic evidence places it with pelicans and herons in the Pelecaniformes. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form and has previously been classified with the storks in the order Ciconiiformes based on this morphology. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. The shoebill ( Balaeniceps rex), also known as the whalebill, whale-headed stork, and shoe-billed stork is a large long-legged wading bird.