The
genus Mycteria was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist
Carl Linnaeus in the
tenth edition of his
Systema Naturae for the
wood stork (
Mycteria americana), the
type species. The genus name is from the
Ancient Greek μυκτηρ/muktēr meaning "snout" or "nose".
Species The genus contains four species. {{Species table/row
Fossils Two prehistoric relatives of the wood stork have been described from
fossils: •
Mycteria milleri (Miller's stork) (Valentine Middle Miocene of Cherry County, US) - formerly
Dissourodes •
Mycteria wetmorei (Wetmore's stork) (Late Pleistocene of west and southeast US, and Cuba) The latter seems to have been a larger
sister species of the wood stork, which it replaced in prehistoric North America.
Late Miocene tarsometatarsus fragments (Ituzaingó Formation at
Paraná, Argentina) are somewhat similar to
Mycteria but still distinct enough to be probably a distinct genus, especially considering their age. A
Late Pleistocene distal radius from
San Josecito Cavern (Mexico) may belong in this genus or in
Ciconia. A "ciconiiform" fossil fragment from the
Touro Passo Formation found at
Arroio Touro Passo (
Rio Grande do Sul,
Brazil) might be of the living species
M. americana; it is at most of
Late Pleistocene age, a few ten thousands of years. == References ==