Revision 4279117 of "Palaeognathae" on simplewiki

{{complex|date=November 2011}}
The '''Palaeognathae''' or '''paleognaths''' are one of the two living superorders of [[bird]]s. 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 [[Reptile|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. 

This superorder contains four extant orders of flightless [[ratite]]s and one order of flying [[tinamou]]s;

The order Tinamiformes (tinamous) includes nine living genera and forty-seven species.

The Apterygiformes ([[kiwi]]s) include five species in one genus (''Apteryx'').

The Casuariiformes have two genera. The [[Cassowary|cassowaries]] (''Casuarius'') have three species and the [[emu]]s (Dromaius) have one living and one recently extinct species.

The Rheiformes ([[Rhea (bird)|rheas]]) have two genera with one species each.

The Struthioniformes ([[ostrich]]es) have only one living species.

There are extinct orders: the Lithornithiformes, the Dinornithiformes ([[moa]]s), and the Aepyornithiformes ([[elephant bird]]s). There are other extinct orders which have been allied with the Palaeognathae by at least one author, but their affinities are a matter of dispute: the Ambiornithiformes, the Gansuiformes, the Paleocursornithiformes, the Gobipterygidae.
==Pictures==
These are the families of running-birds:
<gallery>
File:Ostrich in the crater.jpg|[[Ostrich]]
File:Tinamus majorPCSL00504B.jpg|[[Tinamou]]
File:Rhea americana - Three adult birds.jpg|[[Rhea (bird)|Rheas]]
File:Emoe.jpg|[[Emu]]
File:Casuarius casuarius - double-wattled cassowary.jpg|[[Cassowary]]
File:Apteryx mantelli -Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand-8a.jpg|[[Kiwi]]
File:Moa Heinrich Harder.jpg|[[Moa]]†
File:Aepyornis.jpg|[[Elephant bird]]† 
</gallery>


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[[Category:Birds]]