Bluff Downs Flamingo

Scientific name: Phoenicopterus ruber
  • Updated
    02/09/20
  • Read time
    2 minutes

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Phoenicopterus
    Species
    ruber
  • Size Range
    Height: 1.2m tall

Lived

4 million years ago, early Pliocene.

Description

The Bluff Downs Flamingo strode slowly through shallow waters, seeking tiny invertebrates to eat. Although it died out in Australia, it is considered to belong to the same species as the Greater Flamingo of Africa and South America.

Fossils

A foot bone of the Bluff Downs Flamingo was found in 1977 at Bluff Downs Station in north-eastern Queensland.

Did you know?

Although there are no flamingos now living in Australia, at least six fossil species are known.