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Flamingos belong to the order Phoenicopteriformes. These animals are extremely gregarious and they are naturally adapted to wading in water. They belong to the genus Phoenicopterus. Their family name is Phoenicopteridae. In the Old World, there are two species of flamingos while in the Americas, there are four species. The six flamingos that make up the order Phoenicopteriformes are identified largely the geographical regions where they are found, and therefore the kind of habitats that to which they are most suited. Many people place Andeas and James Flamingo in the Phoenicoparrus genus rather than the Phoenicopterus. The Greater Flamingo is to be found in some parts of the African continent, South West Asia and southern Europe. This species, known as P. roseus, is the most widespread of all flamingos in existence. The Lesser Flamingo can be found in Africa, specifically Great Rift Valley and North West India. This flamingo species is botanically known as P. minor. This is the species with the highest population in the world. The American Flamingo is found in the Caribbean as well as Galapagos islands. Its scientific name is P. rubber. The scientific name for Andean Flamingo is P. andinus and it is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Bolivia. The James Flamingo, also found in parts of Peru, Argentina and Bolivia, is scientifically known as P. Jamesi. Evolution of Phoenicopteriformes The evolution of Phoenicopteriformes, and specifically flamingos seems to have been clearly determined through evidence provided by fossil records. Some few birds which area not very popular and which belong to the Late Cretaceous category are believed to be members of the flamingo’s ancestral lineage. Some of these birds include Scaniornis, Agnopterus and Gallornis. Others include Kashinia, Juncitarsus and Tiliornis. All birds that are of the same ancestry with Phoenicopteriformes share some physical characteristics. They are plesiomorphic as compared to modern birds. The Parascaniornis, which some people suppose is the Cretaceus flamingo shares many features with Baptornis. In fact, many scientists consider these two names to be synonyms. The “swimming flamingos” belong to a flamingo family that is already extinct. On the other hand, the Palaelodidae are believed to be ancestors of the modern flamingos. However, some scientists reject this proposal. The reason for the rejection of this assertion is that Elornis was known for some time even before any palaelodid flamingos were recorded by and proponent of evolution. Nevertheless, fossil evidence of thePhoenicopteridae family seems to have been the most accurately recorded. for this reason, there are no major disagreements among scientists as to the ancestral relatives of the modern flamingo. Relations between modern Phoenicopteriformes and their ancestors Some genetic studies that were released in 2004 showed that many birds seem to have shared a common ancestry. The birds contained in the research report were officially named Metaves. These birds include grebes, flamingos, pigeons, hoatzin, sunbittern and hummingbirds. Majority of these groups turned out to be rather difficult to place in any family trees consisting of birds. The relationships between members of these groups of birds were based largely on molecular convergence.
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