Porphyrio fossil map
Where fossils of Porphyrio 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 | Rallidae |
| Named by | Brisson 1760 |
| Fossil records | 86 occurrences at 55 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Niue, New Zealand, French Polynesia, Tonga, United States, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, Antigua and Barbuda … |
| Rock formations | txn:39513, Tamiami, Wicomico, Allingham |
About Porphyrio
Porphyrio, also known as swamphens or swamp hens, is a genus of semi-aquatic birds in the rail family Rallidae. It includes some smaller species of gallinules which are sometimes separated as the genus Porphyrula or united with the gallinules proper (or "moorhens") in the genus Gallinula. The Porphyrio gallinules are distributed in the warmer regions of the world. The group probably originated in Africa in the Middle Miocene, before spreading across the world in waves from the Late Miocene to the Pleistocene.
The genus Porphyrio was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the western swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) as the type species. The genus name Porphyrio is the Latin name for "swamphen".
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Swamphen (revision 1355527292), 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: Q1137291.
