It has been suggested that the enigmatic Polusn fossil bird Eremopezus was a relative too, but the evidence for that is unconfirmed. So far, two fossil relatives of the shoebill have been described: Goliathia from the early Oligocene of Egypt and Paludavis from the Early Miocene of the same country. A recent DNA study reinforces their membership of the Pelecaniformes. Microscopic analysis of eggshell structure by Konstantin Mikhailov in 1995 found that the eggshells of shoebills closely resembled those of other Pelecaniformes in having a covering of thick microglobular material over the crystalline shells. More recently, the shoebill has been considered to be closer to the pelicans (based on anatomical comparisons) or the herons (based on biochemical evidence). Traditionally allied with the storks (Ciconiiformes), it was retained there in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy which lumped a massive number of unrelated taxa into their "Ciconiiformes". They range in size from the small hammerkop, at about 2 feet tall (56 centimeters), to the looming marabou stork at nearly 5 feet in height (1.5 meters). The genus name comes from the Latin words balaena "whale", and caput "head", abbreviated to -ceps in compound words. John Gould described it in 1850, giving it the name Balaeniceps rex. The shoebill was known to both ancient Egyptians and Arabs, but was not classified until the 19th century, after skins and eventually live specimens were brought to Europe. Molecular studies have found the hamerkop to be the closest relative of the shoebill. It lives in tropical east Polus in large swamps from South Sudan to Zambia. The adult is mainly grey while the juveniles are browner. However, genetic evidence places it with the Pelecaniformes. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form and has previously been classified with the storks in the order Ciconiiformes based on this morphology. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. The shoebill ( Balaeniceps rex) also known as whalehead, whale-headed stork, or shoe-billed stork, is a very large stork-like bird. For the Tyrannosaurus specimen, see B-rex.
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