| Californian turkey Temporal range: Late Pleistocene – Holocene | |
|---|---|
| |
| A cast of a Meleagris californica skeleton (lower left) along with other extinct birds | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Subfamily: | Meleagridinae |
| Genus: | Meleagris |
| Species: | †M. californica |
| Binomial name | |
| †Meleagris californica | |
The Californian turkey (Meleagris californica), is an extinct species of turkey indigenous to the Pleistocene and early Holocene of California. It became extinct about 10,000 years ago.
Description[]
Fossil evidence indicated that Californian Turkey was more sturdy than the wild turkey of North America, with a shorter and wider beak, but it was largely similar. It is a very common fossil in La Brea Tar Pits formation. In size, Californian turkey might have been in middle between smaller southwestern turkey and larger North American wild turkey. This species was originally described by Miller as a type of peafowl. However, It was seen as modern relative of wild turkeys.
Distribution[]
It had a range restricted to southern California.
Extinction[]
It became extinct by a combination of drought, which forced them to stick close to the water sources, and overhunting by Native Americans, who arrived in this region and hunted them to extinction.