- Balearica
Taxobox
name = "Balearica"
image_caption =Grey-crowned Crane
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Aves
ordo =Gruiformes
familia =Gruidae
genus = "Balearica"
genus_authority = Brisson,1760
subdivision_ranks =Species
subdivision = "Balearica pavonina"
"Balearica regulorum"
synonyms ="Basityto"The
bird genus "Balearica" consists of two species in the crane familyGruidae : theBlack-crowned Crane ("B. pavonina") and theGrey-crowned Crane ("B. regulorum").The species today occur only in
Africa , south of theSahara Desert , and are the only cranes that can nest in trees. This habitat is one reason why the relatively small "Balearica" cranes are believed to closely resemble the ancestral members of theGruidae .Like all cranes, they eat
insect s,reptile s, and smallmammal s.Fossil record
Crowned cranes seem to have been more widespread prehistorically. As opposed to the true cranes, genus "Grus", which were always common in the
Holarctic and adjacent regions, the present genus appears to have had a more Atlantic distribution, ranging into Europe and North America; it is not known from the fossil record of cranes from Asia.
*"Balearica rummeli" (Early Miocene of Germany) - formerly "Basityto"
*"Balearica excelsa" (Early - Middle Miocene of France) - formerly "Grus" and "Ornithocnemus"
*"Balearica exigua" (Miocene of Nebraska)
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