Turdus fossil map
Where fossils of Turdus 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 | Turdidae |
| Named by | Linnaeus 1758 |
| Fossil records | 177 occurrences at 79 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Italy, United States, Russia, France, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania … |
| Rock formations | txn:129843, Cromer Forest Bed, San Diego |
About Turdus
Turdus is a genus of medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the wider thrush family, Turdidae. The genus name Turdus is Latin for 'thrush'.
Most of the species are called thrushes; the term thrush is also used for many other birds in the family Turdidae, as well as for a few species belonging to other families. Some Old World species with fully or largely black plumage are called blackbirds, and one, the ring ouzel, still retains the Old English name ouzel, which, until the 17th century, was also used (as "black ouzel") for the common blackbird; it is cognate with the German name Amsel for the same species. Some New World species are called robins, the best known of which is the American robin. Two other species have their own distinct names without "thrush", fieldfare and redwing, derived from behavioural characteristics and plumage features, respectively.
The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Several species have colonised oceanic islands, and two European species have been introduced by man into Australia and New Zealand.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Turdus (revision 1381234995), 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: Q115661.
