The Palaeognathae or paleognaths are one of the two living superorders of birds. The other living superorder is Neognathae. Together these two clades form the subclass Neornithes.
Paleognath is a word derived from the ancient Greek for "old jaws" in reference to the skeletal anatomy of the palate, which is described as more primitive and reptilian than that in other birds. Paleognathous birds are uncontroversially the most primitive, or basal, li...
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The Palaeognathae or paleognaths are one of the two living superorders of birds. The other living superorder is Neognathae. Together these two clades form the subclass Neornithes.
Paleognath is a word derived from the ancient Greek for "old jaws" in reference to the skeletal anatomy of the palate, which is described as more primitive and reptilian than that in other birds. Paleognathous birds are uncontroversially the most primitive, or basal, living birds, though there is some controversy about the precise relationship between them and the other birds. There are also several other scientific controversies about their evolution (see below).
This superorder contains four extant orders of flightless ratites and one order of flying tinamous;
The order Tinamiformes (tinamous) includes nine living genera and thirty-nine species.
The Apterygiformes (kiwis) include three species in one genus (Apteryx).
The Casuariiformes have two genera. The cassowaries (Casuarius) have three species and the...
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