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Caracara (caracara)

Reptilia - Theropoda - Falconidae

Taxonomy
Caracara was named by Merrem (1826). It is extant. It was considered unknown by Emslie (1998).

It was assigned to Caracarinae by Wetmore (1956); and to Falconidae by Brodkorb (1959), Emslie (1998) and Clements et al. (2017).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1816Polyborus Vieillot
1826Caracara Merrem
1930Polyborus Hay p. 321
1933Polyborus Lambrecht p. 419
1940Polyborus Wetmore p. 40
1956Caracara Wetmore p. 48
1959Caracara Brodkorb
1988Polyborus Carroll
1992Polyborus Guthrie p. 322
1994Polyborus Morgan p. 467
1998Caracara Emslie
2017Caracara Clements et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
Romeriida
Diapsida()
RankNameAuthor
Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
Crocopoda
ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
Eucrocopoda
Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
Ornithodira
Dinosauromorpha
Dinosauriformes
Dinosauria()
orderTheropoda
Neotheropoda
AverostraPaul 2002
Tetanurae
Coelurosauria()
Maniraptora
Paraves
classAves
Falconiformes(Sharpe 1874)
familyFalconidaeVigors 1824
genusCaracaraMerrem 1826

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. Caracara Merrem 1826 [caracara]
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Caracara cheriway Jacquin 1784 [crested caracara]
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Invalid names: Caracara prelutosa Howard 1938 [synonym]
Caracara creightoni Brodkorb 1959 [Creighton's caracara]
Caracara plancus Miller 1777 [southern caracara]
Invalid names: Polyborus Vieillot 1816 [replaced]
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: carnivoref
Reproduction: oviparouso
Dispersal: direct/internalo
Dispersal 2: mobileo
Created: 2009-01-03 16:32:37
Modified: 2009-01-03 18:32:37
Source: f = family, o = order
References: Marsh 1875, Naka 2004

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Late/Upper Pleistocene to the top of the Holocene or 0.12900 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 0.012 Ma

Collections (35 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Pleistocene - Holocene2.588 - 0.0Cuba (Matanzas) Caracara creigthoni (152870)
Lujanian0.781 - 0.012Argentina (Buenos Aires) Caracara sp. (202096)
Rancholabrean0.3 - 0.012Mexico (Sonora) Caracara cheriway (20495)
Rancholabrean0.3 - 0.012USA (Florida) Caracara prelutosa (20491)
Rancholabrean0.3 - 0.012USA (California) Caracara prelutosus (152008) Polyborus prelutosus (161536 192630)
Rancholabrean - Holocene0.3 - 0.0USA (California) Polyborus plancus (84904)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Mexico (Mexico) Caracara prelutosa (192627)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (California) Polyborus cheriway (79630) Polyborus plancus (120827 125234 125236 125237 176102) Polyborus prelutosus (190077 218989) Polyborus sp. (44954)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Ecuador Polyborus plancus (152599)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (high glacial)0.129 - 0.0117Venezuela (Zulia) Caracara cheriway (63515)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (New Mexico) Caracara prelutosa (71670)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (late glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Polyborus plancus (154722)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Polyborus prelutosus (20595)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Peru Polyborus plancus (71346)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Polyborus cheriway (74292)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Wyoming) Polyborus plancus (93277)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Polyborus cheriway (154771)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0Bahamas (New Providence Island) Caracara creightoni (194588) Polyborus creightoni (144649)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0USA (Utah) Polyborus plancus (93326)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Venezuela Polyborus plancus (197932 197934)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Mexico (Chiapas) Polyborus plancus (195047)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Cayman Islands (Grand Cayman) Polyborus creightoni (186637)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Bahamas (Great Abaco Island) Caracara creightoni (144662)