Editing Pelican (section)

===Evolution and fossil record===
The oldest known pelican fossil is ''[[Eopelecanus|Eopelecanus aegyptiacus]]'', a [[tibiotarsus]] from the late [[Eocene]] ([[Priabonian]]) the [[Birket Qarun Formation]] in the [[Wadi El Hitan]] in [[Egypt]] (~36 million years ago). It shows striking similarities with modern species.<ref name=":0" />

Later fossils from the [[Early Miocene]] found at [[Luberon]], France, include ''Pelecanus sp.'' and ''[[Miopelecanus|Miopelecanus gracilis]]''.<ref name="Louchart2010">{{cite journal |author1=Louchart, Antoine |author2=Tourment, Nicolas |author3=Carrier, Julie |year=2011 |title=The Earliest Known Pelican Reveals 30 Million Years of Evolutionary Stasis in Beak Morphology |journal=Journal of Ornithology |volume=150 |issue=1 |pages=15–20 |bibcode=2011JOrni.152...15L |doi=10.1007/s10336-010-0537-5 |s2cid=21016885}}</ref>{{efn|Once thought distinct but now considerted within ''Pelecanus'' variation.<ref name="Louchart2010">{{cite journal |author1=Louchart, Antoine |author2=Tourment, Nicolas |author3=Carrier, Julie |year=2011 |title=The Earliest Known Pelican Reveals 30 Million Years of Evolutionary Stasis in Beak Morphology |journal=Journal of Ornithology |volume=150 |issue=1 |pages=15–20 |bibcode=2011JOrni.152...15L |doi=10.1007/s10336-010-0537-5 |s2cid=21016885}}</ref>}} Both fossils show a beak nearly  morphologically identical to that of present-day pelicans.<ref name="Louchart2010" /> This remarkable stasis in pelican [[beak]] morphology may reflect strong functional constraints. Their specialized fish-eating beak has likely remained optimal over millions of years, with changes potentially reducing feeding efficiency.<ref name="Louchart2010" /> Some have also suggested that constraints imposed by flight may have limited the [[Skeleton|skeletal evolution]]<nowiki/>of pelicans.<ref name="Louchart2010" />

Notable fossil species (sorted by region and age) include: 

* '''Europe''': ''[[Pelecanus fraasi|P. fraasi]]'', [[Richard Lydekker|Lydekker]], 1891; ''[[Pelecanus intermedius|P. intermedius]]''{{efn|''Pelecanus intermedius'' was transferred to ''Miopelecanus'' by Cheneval in 1984<ref name="fbbm">{{cite book |author=Lydekker, Richard |url=https://archive.org/stream/catalogueoffossi00foss#page/36/mode/1up |title=Catalogue of the Fossil Birds in the British Museum (Natural History) |publisher=British Museum |year=1891 |place=London, United Kingdom |pages=37–45 |access-date=29 June 2012}}</ref>}}, Frass,1870; ''[[Pelecanus gracilis|P. gracilis]]'', Milne-Edwards, 1863;<ref name="fbbm">{{cite book |author=Lydekker, Richard |url=https://archive.org/stream/catalogueoffossi00foss#page/36/mode/1up |title=Catalogue of the Fossil Birds in the British Museum (Natural History) |publisher=British Museum |year=1891 |place=London, United Kingdom |pages=37–45 |access-date=29 June 2012}}</ref> ''[[Pelecanus odessanus|P. odessanus]]'', Widhalm, 1886<ref>{{cite journal |author=Widhalm, J. |year=1886 |title=Die Fossilen Vogel-Knochen der Odessaer-Steppen-Kalk-Steinbrüche an der Neuen Slobodka bei Odessa |journal=Schriften der Neurussische Gesellschaft der Naturforscher zu Odessa |language=de |volume=10 |pages=3–9}}</ref>
* '''North America''': ''[[Pelecanus halieus|P. halieus]]'', Wetmore, 1933;<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wetmore, A. |year=1933 |title=Pliocene Bird Remains from Idaho |url=https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_36794_pliocenebirdremainsfromidaho1862 |journal=Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections |volume=87 |issue=20 |pages=1–12}}</ref> ''[[Pelecanus schreiberi|P. schreiberi]]'', Olson, 1999<ref name="pbsw">{{cite journal |author=Olson, Storrs L. |year=1999 |title=A New Species of Pelican (Aves: Pelecanidae) from the Lower Pliocene of North Carolina and Florida |url=http://si-pddr.si.edu/jspui/bitstream/10088/6492/1/VZ_293_Pelecanus_schreiberi.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=112 |issue=3 |pages=503–09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719074440/http://si-pddr.si.edu/jspui/bitstream/10088/6492/1/VZ_293_Pelecanus_schreiberi.pdf |archive-date=19 July 2012 |access-date=27 April 2012}}</ref>
* '''Asia''': ''[[Pelecanus cautleyi|P. cautleyi]]'', Davies, 1880; ''[[Pelecanus sivalensis|P. sivalensis]]'', Davies, 1880<ref name="fbbm" />
* '''South America''': [[Pelecanus paranensis|''P. paranensis'']], Noriega et al., 2023<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Noriega |first1=Jorge I. |last2=Cenizo |first2=Marcos |last3=Brandoni |first3=Diego |last4=Pérez |first4=Leandro M. |last5=Tineo |first5=David E. |last6=Diederle |first6=Juan M. |last7=Bona |first7=Paula |date=2023-05-09 |title=A new pelican (Aves: Pelecanidae) from the Upper Miocene of Argentina: new clues about the origin of the New World lineages |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2023.2202702 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=42 |issue=5 |pages=e2202702 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2023.2202702 |issn=0272-4634 |s2cid=258605013}}</ref>
* '''Australia''': ''[[Pelecanus cadimurka|P. cadimurka]]'', Rich & van Tets, 1981;<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Rich, P.V. |author2=van Tets, J. |year=1981 |title=The Fossil Pelicans of Australia |journal=Records of the South Australian Museum (Adelaide) |volume=18 |issue=12 |pages=235–64}}</ref> ''[[Pelecanus tirarensis|P. tirarensis]]'', Miller, 1966<ref>{{cite journal |author=Miller, A.H. |year=1966 |title=The Fossil Pelicans of Australia |journal=Memoirs of the Queensland Museum |volume=14 |pages=181–90}}</ref>

==== Controversial and dubious fossil assignments ====

* '''''[[Protopelicanus]]''''' (Late Eocene) – Once considered a possible early pelecaniform, this bird might instead belong to the [[Pelagornithidae]] (pseudotooth birds) or another unrelated aquatic lineage. It is not generally accepted as a member of Pelecanidae.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Mlikovsky, Jiri |year=1995 |title=Nomenclatural and Taxonomic Status of Fossil Birds Described by H. G. L. Reichenbach in 1852 |url=http://www.nm.cz/download/pm/zoo/mlikovsky_lit/087-1995-Reichenbach1852.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg |volume=181 |pages=311–16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006183208/http://www.nm.cz/download/pm/zoo/mlikovsky_lit/087-1995-Reichenbach1852.pdf |archive-date=6 October 2013 |access-date=29 April 2012}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

* '''''[[Liptornis]]''''' (Miocene) – Originally described as a pelican, this genus is now considered a ''[[nomen dubium]]'', based on fragmentary material that lacks sufficient diagnostic features.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Olson, Storrs L. |year=1985 |title=Faunal Turnover in South American Fossil Avifaunas: the Insufficiencies of the Fossil Record |journal=Evolution |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=1174–77 |doi=10.2307/2408747 |jstor=2408747 |pmid=28561505}}</ref>