Limosa fossil map
Where fossils of Limosa 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 | Brisson 1760 |
| Fossil records | 32 occurrences at 16 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, Norfolk Island, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, Ecuador, Russia, Mexico, Italy |
| Rock formations | txn:39581, San Pedro, Peace River, Monterey |
About Limosa
Godwits are a group of four large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory waders of the bird genus Limosa. Their long bills allow them to probe deeply in the sand for aquatic worms and molluscs. In their winter range, they flock together where food is plentiful. They frequent tidal shorelines, breeding in northern climates in summer and migrating south in winter.
A female bar-tailed godwit made a flight of 29,000 km (18,000 mi), flying 11,680 km (7,260 mi) of it without stopping. In 2020 a male bar-tailed godwit flew about 12,200 km (7,600 mi) non-stop in its migration from Alaska to New Zealand, a record at the time for avian non-stop flight.
In October 2022, a 5 month old, male bar-tailed godwit was tracked from Alaska to Tasmania, a trip that took 11 days, and recorded a non-stop flight of 13,500 km (8,400 mi).
The godwits can be distinguished from the curlews by their straight or slightly upturned bills, and from the dowitchers by their longer legs. The winter plumages are fairly drab, but three species have reddish underparts when breeding. The females are appreciably larger than the males.
Godwits were once popular as food in the British Isles. Sir Thomas Browne writing in about 1682 noted that godwits "were accounted the daintiest dish in England".
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Godwit (revision 1370655670), 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: Q585636.
