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Nycticorax (night heron)

Osteichthyes - Pelecaniformes - Ardeidae

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1817Nycticorax Forster
1940Nycticorax Wetmore p. 16
1956Nycticorax Wetmore p. 20
1963Nycticorax Brodkorb p. 3
1985Nycticorax Becker p. 28
1987Nycticorax Rasmussen et al. p. 13
1988Nycticorax Carroll
1992Nycticorax Emslie p. 252
1994Nycticorax Morgan p. 467
2017Nycticorax Clements et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
classOsteichthyes
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
—Diapsida()
—Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
—Crocopoda
RankNameAuthor
—ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
—Eucrocopoda
—Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
—Ornithodira
—Dinosauromorpha
—Dinosauriformes
—Dinosauria()
—Saurischia()
—Theropoda()
—Neotheropoda
—AverostraPaul 2002
—Tetanurae
—Coelurosauria()
—Maniraptora
—Paraves
classAves
subclassNeornithesGadow 1893
—Aequornithes
—Feraequornithes
superorderPelecanimorphaeHuxley 1867
orderPelecaniformesSharpe 1891
familyArdeidaeLeach 1820
genusNycticoraxForster 1817

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Nycticorax Forster 1817 [night heron]
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Nycticorax caledonicus Gmelin 1789 [rufous night-heron]
†Nycticorax duboisi Rothschild 1907 [Réunion night heron]
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Invalid names: Nycticorax borbonensis Cowles 1994 [synonym]
†Nycticorax fidens Brodkorb 1963
†Nycticorax kalavikai Steadman et al. 2000 [Niue night heron]
†Nycticorax mauritianus Newton and Gadow 1893 [Mauritius night heron]
†Nycticorax megacephalus Milne-Edwards 1874 [Rodrigues night heron]
Nycticorax nycticorax Linnaeus 1758 [black-crowned night heron]
†Nycticorax olsoni Bourne et al. 2003 [Ascension night heron]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteo
Entire body: yeso
Adult length: 10 to < 100o
Adult width: 1.0 to < 10o
Adult height: 1.0 to < 10o
Architecture: compact or denseo
Ontogeny: accretion, modification of partso
Grouping: solitaryo
Environment: terrestrialf
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: volantf
Diet: piscivoref
Reproduction: oviparouso
Dispersal: direct/internalo
Dispersal 2: mobileo
Created: 2009-01-03 16:51:50
Modified: 2009-01-03 18:51:50
Source: f = family, o = order
References: Thiollay 1994, Marsh 1875, Kiessling 2004

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Rupelian to the top of the Holocene or 33.90000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 27.3 Ma

Collections (27 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Rupelian33.9 - 27.3Egypt (Fayum) Nycticorax sp. (12960)
Hemphillian9.4 - 4.7USA (Florida) Nycticorax fidens (18560)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Greece Nycticorax nycticorax (199938)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Japan (Okinawa) Nycticorax caledonicus (192971)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Ecuador Nycticorax nycticorax (152599)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (California) Nycticorax nycticorax (44954)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Nycticorax nycticorax (20581 20636)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Peru Nycticorax nycticorax (71346)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Nycticorax nycticorax (154773)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Egypt Nycticorax nycticorax (208788)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0Bahamas (San Salvador) Nycticorax nycticorax (190743)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0Papua New Guinea Nycticorax caledonicus (194695)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0Tonga Nycticorax n. sp. (194698)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Niue Nycticorax n. sp. (193850)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0United Kingdom (England) Nycticorax nycticorax (125446)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Saint Helena Nycticorax olsoni (194266) Nycticorax sp. (194278)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Reunion Nycticorax borbonensis (193993) Nycticorax duboisi (193994 193996)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Mauritius Ardea garzetta (194024) Ardea megacephala (194075) Butorides mauritianus (194025) Nycticorax megacephalus (194026 194031 194074)