Colius fossil map
Where fossils of Colius have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 5 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 5 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 | 23.04–0.774 million years ago (Aquitanian to Calabrian) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Coliidae |
| Named by | Brisson 1760 |
| Fossil records | 4 occurrences at 2 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | South Africa, Tanzania |
| Rock formations | Varswater, Varswater & Bredasdorp, Olduvai |
About Colius
Colius is a genus of mousebirds in the family Coliidae. The four species are widely distributed in Africa. Two other African mousebirds are placed in the genus Urocolius.
The genus Colius was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the white-backed mousebird (Colius colius) as the type species.
The genus contains the following four species:
A fossil species, Colius hendeyi, was described from Early Pliocene remains found at Langebaanweg in South Africa.
Some Miocene taxa from France were previously assigned to Colius. Of these, only the Middle Miocene "Colius" palustris might plausibly belong there, but it is more often separated in Necrornis. In younger lineages like Passeriformes, extant genera (e.g. Menura and Orthonyx) were around by then, though simply because two taxa are of same taxonomic rank, they do not need to be of the same age. All that can be said is that while it cannot be ruled out that the modern genus Colius was around in Miocene Europe, it more likely evolved later, and probably in sub-Saharan Africa.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Colius (revision 1379256796), 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: Q249433.
