History and Taxonomy
Phylogeny
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American flamingos are one of six species of flamingo.
Some authorities believe there to be five species, with the merging of the greater and American flamingo into one species, with two subspecies.
Flamingos belong to one of the most ancient bird families.
Fossils of flamingos most similar to modern-day forms have been found that date to 30 million years ago.
fossils of more primitive species have been located that are estimated to be 50 million years old.
Fossils have been discovered in places where flamingos do not live today, such as parts of Europe, North America, and Australia. This indicates that they had a much wider range in the past. They are currently grouped as a suborder of the order Ciconiiformes, but debates continue to this day as to which birds flamingos are most closely related to. Anatomically, they are most like storks. Behaviorally, however, they are more similar to waterfowl such as geese.
Using a method that analyzes egg-white proteins, some authorities believe they are most like herons. Advanced methodology, using DNA, classifies flamingos as most like storks, ibis, pelicans, and New World vultures. One study examining the structure of biliary acids (used to determine evolutionary relationships) places flamingos in the order Anseriformes. As a result of all these differences, many taxonomists are now beginning to conclude that flamingos should be in an order of their own: Phoenicopteriformes.
The six species of flamingo are separated into two groups according to the size and shape of their bills and also in the number and arrangement of their lamellae. The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber), and Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) have a relatively simple feeding structure in their bill.
Their lamellae are spaced wide apart and this enables them to eat small crustaceans, mollusks, insects, plant seeds, and small fish. This contrasts with the highly specialized feeding configuration in the bill of the James (Phoenicoparrus jamesi), Andean (Phoenicoparrus andinus), and lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor). Lamellae in these species are very close together and exclude large food items. These species of flamingo consume only very tiny food such as algae and diatoms. The difference between the genera Phonicoparrus and Phoeniconaias is the absence or presence of a hind toe.
Zoogeography
Modern-day flamingos may be descended from now-extinct forms like Agnopterus, which lived during the Upper Eocene period in England and France. During the Oligocene, the first representative of the modern-day flamingo genus, Phoenicopterus, appeared. About 40 million years ago, the earliest race of Phoenicopterus disappeared as did Paloelodus, a generalized form of modern-day flamingos.
Five species of Paloelodus have been described from central France. The next record in the fossil history is some 10,000 years after Paloelodus disappeared, and is for Phoenicopterus croizeti, the actual first known flamingo. It was from the same region as Paloelodus. Fossil evidence is sometimes sketchy for flamingos, and the next fossil record for flamingos is in comparatively modern times. It shows Phoenicopterus croizeti extinct and Phoenicopterus antiquorum in existence. In addition, fossils of Phoeniconaias minor, a member of a separate and distinct genus, can be found in East and South Africa at this same time.
In the New World, fossils of flamingos have also been found, although these date 10 million years later than those such as Phoenicopterus croizeti. During the Miocene, a primitive form of flamingo called Megapaloelodus connectens lived in an area that is now California and South Dakota. Megapaloelodus is considered to be most like present day forms, and is thought to bridge the gap between Paloelodus (hence the name connectens).
At some time during the late Tertiary period, flamingos of the genus Phoenicopterus found their way from their place of origin in southern Europe to the New World. It is thought that they moved from the Cape Verde Islands to Brazil, the Guianas, or the eastern Antilles. New forms of flamingo such as Phoenicopterus copei lived in what is now Oregon. Phoenicopterus stocki roamed in northern Mexico, and Phoenicopterus floridanus could be found in Florida. These flamingos were, for the most part, very similar to modern-day forms.
It is not exactly known when or where Phoenicopterus ruber appeared.
Eventually, most flamingos became extinct, most likely the result of the dramatically changing climate of the Ice Age.
Small isolated groups survived by moving into the warmer regions of the Earth, and evolved into the modern-day forms.
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