Calidris fossil map
Where fossils of Calidris have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Prehistoric birds |
|---|---|
| Lived | 11.63 million years ago to the present (Tortonian to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Scolopacidae |
| Named by | Gmelin 1789 |
| Fossil records | 67 occurrences at 43 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Peru, Italy, Greenland, Mexico, Venezuela, Spain, United Kingdom … |
| Rock formations | txn:39581, Tamiami, Peace River, Yorktown, Alachua |
About Calidris
Calidris is a genus of Arctic-breeding, strongly migratory wading birds in the family Scolopacidae. These birds form huge mixed flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter. They are small to medium-sized sandpipers, long-winged and relatively short-billed; some are difficult to identify because of the similarity between species, and various breeding, non-breeding, juvenile, and moulting plumages. With a few exceptions, they have a fairly stereotypical colour pattern, being brownish above and lighter, usually white or buffy coloured, on much of the underside. They often have a lighter supercilium above brownish cheeks. The species are variously known in English as sandpipers or (particularly the smaller species) stints; some have their own unique names, with dunlin (a mediaeval name meaning "[small] brown bird"), knot (imitative of its call), ruff (named after its male display plumage), and sanderling and surfbird (named after their habitat and behaviour). In North America, the smaller species are often known colloquially as peeps.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Calidris (revision 1380066573), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q30838.
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