Family Ardeidae Leach 1820 (heron)
PaleoDB taxon number: 39541
Parent taxon: Pelecaniformes according to J. F. Clements et al. 2017
Sister taxa: Cladornithes, Fregatae, Odontopteryges, Odontopterygia, Pelecanidae, Phaethontes, Protoplotidae, Steganopodes, Threskiornithidae, Torotix
Subtaxa: Ardea, Ardeacites, Ardeagrandis, Ardeinae, Botaurinae, Botaurites, Botaurus, Butorides, Calcardea, Egretta, Eoceornis, Gnotornis, Ixobrychus, Matuku, Nyctanassa, Nycticorax, Palaeophoyx, Syrigma, Zeltornis
Ecology: volant piscivore