Biology:Cariamiformes
Cariamiformes (or Cariamae) is an order of primarily flightless birds that has existed for over 50 million years. The group includes the family Cariamidae (seriemas) and the extinct families such as Phorusrhacidae, Bathornithidae, Idiornithidae and Ameghinornithidae. Extant members (seriemas) are only known from South America, but fossils of many extinct taxa are also found in other continents including Europe and North America. Though traditionally considered a suborder within Gruiformes, both morphological and genetic studies[1] show that it belongs to a separate group of birds, Australaves, whose other living members are Falconidae, Psittaciformes and Passeriformes.[2]
This proposal has been confirmed by molecular phylogenetics.[3][2] The Cariamiformes are sister to the remaining extant Australaves.[2] Falcons are then sister to the remaining Australaves, the parrots and Passeriformes.[2] In combination with the fact that the Hieraves, which are sister to all other Afroaves lineages, are also predatory, it is inferred that the common ancestor of 'core landbirds' (Telluraves) was an apex predator.[3] However, some researchers like Darren Naish feel that this assessment is biased towards the more well known, predatory representatives of the clade,[4] and indeed at least one form, Strigogyps, appears to have been herbivorous.[5]
The earliest known unambiguous member of this group is the early Eocene taxon Paleopsilopterus itaboraiensis.[6] An isolated femur from the Cape Lamb Member of the Lopez de Bertodano Formation, Vega Island, Antarctica was briefly described as a cariamiform femur in 2006. This specimen, which dates to the late Cretaceous period 66 million years ago, was originally reported as indistinguishable from the femurs of modern seriemas, and belonging to a large bird about 1 metre (3.3 ft) tall. Because of its age and geographic location, it was argued that this unnamed species may have been close to the ancestry of both cariamids and phorusrhacids.[7] However, a subsequent study published by West et al. (2019) reinterpreted this specimen as a fossil of an unnamed large-bodied member of a non-cariamiform genus Vegavis.[8] In 2024, two ungual phalanx specimens from the early Eocene strata in Antarctica have been identified as those of a cariamiform, possibly of a phorusrhacid.[9]
Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that Cariamiformes is sister to the Falconiformes, Psittaciformes and Passeriformes:[2]
| Australaves |
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Extant species summary
The IOC World Bird List (version 15.1) recognizes 2 species of Cariamiformes.[10] As of December 2025, IUCN/BirdLife International has assessed both species within the order, but neither have population estimates.
| Common name | Binomial name | Population | Status | Trend | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red-legged seriema | Cariama cristata | unknown[11] | Template:IUCN-LC[11] |  [11]
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| Black-legged seriema | Chunga burmeisteri | unknown[12] | Template:IUCN-LC[12] | [12]
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References
- ↑ Hackett, Shannon J. (2008-06-27). "A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History". Science 320 (5884): 1763–1768. doi:10.1126/science.1157704. PMID 18583609. Bibcode: 2008Sci...320.1763H. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/320/5884/1763. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Prum, R.O.; Berv, J.S.; Dornburg, A.; Field, D.J.; Townsend, J.P.; Lemmon, E.M.; Lemmon, A.R. (2015). "A comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation DNA sequencing". Nature 526 (7574): 569–573. doi:10.1038/nature15697. PMID 26444237. Bibcode: 2015Natur.526..569P.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jarvis, E. D.; Mirarab, S.; Aberer, A. J.; Li, B.; Houde, P.; Li, C.; Ho, S. Y. W.; Faircloth, B. C. et al. (2014). "Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds". Science 346 (6215): 1320–1331. doi:10.1126/science.1253451. PMID 25504713. PMC 4405904. Bibcode: 2014Sci...346.1320J. https://pgl.soe.ucsc.edu/jarvis14.pdf. Retrieved 2015-08-29.
- ↑ Naish, Darren. "Bird behaviour, the 'deep time' perspective". http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/bird-behaviour-the-e28098deep-timee28099-perspective/.
- ↑ Gerald Mayr, Exceptionally preserved plant parenchyma in the digestive tract indicates a herbivorous diet in the Middle Eocene bird Strigogyps sapea (Ameghinornithidae)
- ↑ Mayr, G. (2022). "Accipitriformes (New World Vultures, Hawks, and Allies), Falconiformes (Falcons), and Cariamiformes (Seriemas and Allies)". Paleogene Fossil Birds. Fascinating Life Sciences (Second ed.). Springer Cham. pp. 153–176. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-87645-6_8. ISBN 978-3-030-87644-9.
- ↑ Case, J.; Reguero, M.; Martin, J.; Cordes-Person, A. (2006). "A cursorial bird from the Maastrictian of Antarctica". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26 (3): 48A.
- ↑ Abagael R. West; Christopher R. Torres; Judd A. Case; Julia A. Clarke; Patrick M. O'Connor; Matthew C. Lamanna (2019). "An avian femur from the Late Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula: removing the record of cursorial landbirds from the Mesozoic of Antarctica". PeerJ 7. doi:10.7717/peerj.7231. PMID 31333904.
- ↑ Acosta Hospitaleche, Carolina; Jones, Washington (2024). "Were terror birds the apex continental predators of Antarctica? New findings in the early Eocene of Seymour Island". Palaeontologia Electronica 27 (1): 1–31. doi:10.26879/1340. https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2024/5162-eocene-cariamiformes-from-antarctica.
- ↑ "Seriemas, falcons – IOC World Bird List". https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/falcons/.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 BirdLife International (2024). "Cariama cristata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22692205A263629033.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22692205/263629033. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 BirdLife International (2024). "Chunga burmeisteri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22692208A263628841.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22692208/263628841. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
Further reading
- Mayr, Gerald (2009). "Cariamae (seriemas and allies)". Paleogene Fossil Birds. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 139–152. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-89628-9_13. ISBN 978-3-540-89627-2.
Wikidata ☰ Q1207101 entry
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