Numenius fossil map
Where fossils of Numenius 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 | 5.333 million years ago to the present (Zanclean to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Scolopacidae |
| Named by | Brisson 1760 |
| Fossil records | 70 occurrences at 46 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, Pitcairn, Micronesia, Federated States of, Egypt, Russia, Italy, DR Congo, Ecuador, Peru, Åland Islands … |
| Rock formations | txn:39581, Gabal Silsila, Yorktown, Pampean, Allingham |
About Numenius
The curlews are a group of eight species of birds in the genus Numenius, characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been influenced by the Old French corliu, "messenger", from courir, "to run". It was first recorded in 1377 in Langland's Piers Plowman "Fissch to lyue in Ăľe flode..Ăže corlue by kynde of Ăľe eyre". (Fish [are made] to live in the flood [water], the curlew by nature of the air.) In Europe, "curlew" usually refers to one species, the Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata).
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Curlew (revision 1379507654), 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: Q215166.
