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Cracidae
Chachalacas, Guans and Curassows
1
Number of resurrected species:
Family
Order
Class
Cracidae
Galliformes
Aves
Description
Chachalacas, Guans and Curassows, of which the family of Cracidae consists, are still extant birds that live in Central and South America. They are part of the Galliformes-order, which means they are closely related birds, like turkeys and quails. They are fairly large in size and mainly feed on a large variety of plant material.
Distribution & Fossil evidence
Nowadays, the Cracids live in Central and South America, but fossil have also been found in North America. They lived in semi-open and forested areas. The oldest known fossils were discovered in North America during the Oligocene epoch, about 30 million years ago.
Species
There are many species of Cracids that are still extant. Several extinct genera are known.
Included genera
Boreortalis
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