Editing Struthioniformes (section)

== Evolutionary history ==
According to Mayr and Zelenkov (2021), all Struthioniformes are united by the following characters: "a very long and narrow [[tarsometatarsus]] with short trochleae for the second and fourth toes, a tubercle next to the pons supratendineus on the distal end of the [[tibiotarsus]], as well as a shortening of all non-ungual [[phalanges]] of the fourth toe except for the proximal one" All known members of the group are thought to have been flightless. Struthioniformes were widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere during the [[Eocene]], including [[Paleotididae]] from Europe, and [[Geranoididae]] from North America, and [[Eogruidae]] and [[Ergilornithidae]] in Asia.<ref name=":0" /> The discovery of ''Lumbreornis'', belonging to either Paleotididae or Geranoididae, suggests that Struthiorniformes probably also inhabited South America during the Eocene.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bertelli |first1=S. |last2=Giannini |first2=N. P. |last3=García-López |first3=D. A. |last4=Deraco |first4=V. |last5=Babot |first5=J. |last6=Del Papa |first6=C. |last7=Armella |first7=M. A. |last8=Herrera |first8=C. |last9=Mayr |first9=G. |year=2024 |title=The first Eocene bird from Northwestern Argentina  |journal=Publicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=78–89 |doi=10.5710/PEAPA.31.05.2024.511 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Ergilornthidae would persist in Asia into the Early [[Pliocene]], while its sister group [[Struthionidae]] likely originated from Asia.<ref name=":0" /> Ostriches first appeared in Africa during the early Miocene, around 21 million years ago, before dispersing into Eurasia during the late Miocene, beginning around 12 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Widrig |first1=Klara |last2=Field |first2=Daniel J. |date=February 2022 |title=The Evolution and Fossil Record of Palaeognathous Birds (Neornithes: Palaeognathae) |journal=Diversity |language=en |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=105 |doi=10.3390/d14020105 |issn=1424-2818|doi-access=free }}</ref>