Gallinula fossil map
Where fossils of Gallinula 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 | 23.04 million years ago to the present (Aquitanian to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Rallidae |
| Named by | Brisson 1760 |
| Fossil records | 39 occurrences at 35 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, New Zealand, Madagascar, United Kingdom, Mexico, Greece, Tonga, Venezuela, New Caledonia, Italy … |
| Rock formations | txn:39513, Hillgrove, Cromer Forest Bed, Tamiami, Wicomico, Hagerman |
About Gallinula
Moorhens are medium-sized water birds in the genus Gallinula, Latin for 'little hen', in the rail family Rallidae. The genus currently includes seven species, of which one is extinct, and two others probably are. Three species formerly included in Gallinula have been found to have enough differences to be placed in two separate but closely related genera, Paragallinula (with one species, lesser moorhen Paragallinula angulata), and Tribonyx, the two native hens of Australia; Tribonyx differs visually by shorter, thicker and stubbier toes and bills, and longer tails that lack the white signal pattern of typical moorhens. The moorhens are also close relatives of the coots (Fulica), but the swamphens (Porphyrio), formerly also thought to be close relatives, are now known to be less closely related.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Moorhen (revision 1377313412), 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: Q853653.
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