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From the [[fossil]] record it is known that pelicans have been around for over 30 million years, the earliest fossil ''Pelecanus'' being found in [[Oligocene]] deposits in France.<ref name=Louchart2010>Louchart, A., Tourment, N. and Carrier, C. (2010). "The earliest known pelican reveals 30 million years of evolutionary stasis in beak morphology." ''Journal of Ornithology'', {{doi:10.1007/s10336-010-0537-5}}</ref> A prehistoric [[genus]] has been named ''[[Miopelecanus]]'', while ''[[Protopelicanus]]'' may be a pelicanid or pelecaniform – or a similar aquatic bird such as a [[pseudotooth bird]] (Pelagornithidae). The supposed [[Miocene]] pelican ''[[Liptornis]]'' from Argentina is a ''[[nomen dubium]]'', being based on hitherto indeterminable fragments.<!-- Evolution39:1174 -->
A number of [[fossil]] species are also known from the extant genus ''Pelecanus'':
* ''Pelecanus halieus'' (Late Pliocene of Idaho, USA)
* ''Pelecanus cadimurka''
* ''Pelecanus cauleyi''
* ''Pelecanus gracilis''
* ''Pelecanus halieus''
* ''Pelecanus intermedius''
* ''Pelecanus lazerus''
* ''Pelecanus odessanus''
* ''Pelecanus schreiberi''
* ''Pelecanus sivalensis''
* ''Pelecanus tirarensis''
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