PBDB Taxon

Basic info	Taxonomic history	Classification	Included Taxa
Morphology	Ecology and taphonomy	External Literature Search	Age range and collections

Fregatidae (frigatebird)

Reptilia - Suliformes - Fregatidae

Taxonomy

Fregatidae was named by Garrod (1874). It is extant.

It was assigned to Fregatae by Olson (1977), Olson (1985), Carroll (1988); to Steganopodes by Mayr (2005), Bourdon et al. (2005); to Fregatoidea by Livezey and Zusi (2007); to Aequornithes by Mayr (2011); to Pelecaniformes by Olson (1975), Kurochkin (2000), Olson and Matsuoka (2005), Stidham (2015); and to Suliformes by del Hoyo et al. (2014), Clements et al. (2017), Mayr (2022).

Subtaxa

Fregata, Fregatinae, Limnofregata, Limnofregatinae

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1874	Fregatidae Garrod
1975	Fregatidae Olson p. 22
1977	Fregatidae Olson p. 2
1985	Fregatidae Olson p. 201
1988	Fregatidae Carroll
2000	Fregatidae Kurochkin p. 551
2005	Fregatidae Bourdon et al. p. 166
2005	Fregatidae Mayr p. 67
2005	Fregatidae Olson and Matsuoka p. 2
2007	Fregatidae Livezey and Zusi p. 91
2011	Fregatidae Mayr p. 73 figs. Figure 5
2014	Fregatidae del Hoyo et al.
2015	Fregatidae Stidham
2017	Fregatidae Clements et al.
2022	Fregatidae Mayr p. 119 figs. Fig. 7.1

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
—	Sauropsida
class	Reptilia
subclass	Eureptilia	()
—	Romeriida
—	Diapsida	()
—	Archosauromorpha	(Huene 1946)
—	Crocopoda

Rank	Name	Author
—	Archosauriformes	Gauthier 1986
—	Eucrocopoda
—	Archosauria	()
informal	Avemetatarsalia
—	Ornithodira
—	Dinosauromorpha
—	Dinosauriformes
—	Dinosauria	()
—	Theropoda	()
—	Neotheropoda
—	Averostra	Paul 2002
—	Tetanurae
—	Coelurosauria	()
—	Maniraptora
—	Paraves
class	Aves
subclass	Neornithes	Gadow 1893
—	Aequornithes
—	Feraequornithes
superorder	Pelecanimorphae	Huxley 1867
order	Suliformes	Sharpe 1891
family	Fregatidae	Garrod 1874
family	Fregatidae	Garrod 1874

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.

Fm. Fregatidae Garrod 1874 [frigatebird]

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G. Fregata Lacépède 1799

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Fregata andrewsi Matthews 1914 [Christmas frigatebird]

Fregata aquila Linnaeus 1758 [Ascension frigatebird]

Fregata ariel Gray 1845 [Lesser frigatebird]

Fregata magnificens Mathews 1914 [Magnificent frigatebird]

Fregata minor Gmelin 1789 [Great frigatebird]

G. †Limnofregata Olson 1977

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†Limnofregata azygosternon Olson 1977

†Limnofregata hasegawai Olson and Matsuoka 2005

†Limnofregata hutchisoni Stidham 2015

Invalid names: Fregatinae Garrod 1784 [empty], Limnofregatinae Olson 1977 [empty]

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:

terrestrialo

Locomotion:

actively mobileo

Life habit:

ground dwellingo

Diet:

carnivoresubo

Reproduction:

oviparouso

Dispersal:

direct/internalo

Dispersal 2:

mobileo

Created:

2009-01-03 20:39:15

Modified:

2009-01-03 22:39:15

Source: subo = suborder, o = order

References: Marsh 1875, Benton 1983

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Wasatchian to the top of the Holocene or 54.90000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 50.5 Ma

Collections (50 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Early/Lower Eocene	56.0 - 48.07	USA (Wyoming)	Limnofregata azygosternon (215623)
Wasatchian	54.9 - 50.5	USA (Wyoming)	Limnofregata azygosternon (85192 85193) Limnofregata azygosternon, Limnofregata hasegawai (15664 85026) Limnofregata hasegawai (15853) Limnofregata hutchisoni (168323)
Wasatchian	54.9 - 50.5	USA (Virginia)	Limnofregata sp. (15595)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Venezuela	Fregata magnificens (197935)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Solomon Islands	Fregata minor (209066 209090) Fregata minor, Fregata ariel (209067) Fregata sp., Fregata minor (209094 209099) Fregata sp., Fregata minor, Fregata ariel (209096)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	French Polynesia (Society Islands)	Fregata minor, Fregata ariel (215325)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Saint Helena	Fregata aquila (194221 194226) Fregata ariel (155782 176077) Fregata minor, Fregata ariel (176075 176076) Fregata sp. (194236 194238)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Northern Mariana Islands	Fregata ariel (194643)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	French Polynesia	Fregata minor (198010 198022) Fregata minor, Fregata ariel (198023) Fregata sp., Fregata minor, Fregata ariel (194675)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	American Samoa	Fregata sp. (193800)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Pitcairn	Fregata minor (193762 193763 193764 193786 193788 193789 193790 193791 193793)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Micronesia, Federated States of	Fregata ariel (194651) Fregata minor (194653) Fregata minor, Fregata ariel (194650) Fregata sp., Fregata minor (194652)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Cook Islands	Fregata ariel (194757 194758 194759) Fregata minor, Fregata ariel (193453)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Brazil	Fregata sp. (195071)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Marshall Islands	Fregata sp. (194995 194999)