The Californian turkey (''Meleagris californica'') is an extinct species of

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

that lived during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

and Early

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

epochs in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It has been estimated that the Californian turkey went extinct about 10,000 years ago. Meleagris NT

Fossil evidence indicates that the Californian turkey was stockier than the

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

of the eastern United States, with a shorter, wider beak, but was largely similar otherwise. It is a very common fossil in the

La Brea Tar Pits La Brea Tar Pits comprise an active Paleontological site, paleontological research site in urban Los Angeles. Hancock Park was formed around a group of tar pits where natural Bitumen, asphalt (also called asphaltum, bitumen, or pitch; ''brea'' ...

. Size-wise, though, the California turkey might have been intermediate in size between the smaller southwestern turkey (''Meleagris crassipes'') and the larger North American wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo''). The extinction of this species is thought to have been caused by a combination of drought, which would have forced turkeys to restrict their lives to areas close to water sources, and overhunting by humans who had arrived relatively recently in the region. This species was originally described as a type of

peafowl Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

by Miller in 1909 and placed in the genus '' Pavo'' with that bird.

Distribution and origin

"The unquestionable geographic range of ''M. californica'' extended from Orange County in the south (Imperial Highway), through Los Angeles County (Rancho La Brea and probably also Workman and Alhambra Streets), to Santa Barbara County in the north (Carpinteria)." During the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

, Californian turkeys probably originated from other turkey populations that have become restricted to

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. However, the similarities between the Californian and wild turkey suggest the former, following isolation of their ancestors, may have faced similar evolutionary pressures when compared to their mainland relatives. The xeric desert topography that prevails now in southeastern California and western Arizona may have prevented the Californian turkey and its neighbor, the wild turkey, from exchanging genes with one another. This would therefore indicate the California turkey has been an isolated species separated from the more abundant wild turkey for some time before their extinction.

References

* ''Physical Geography of North America'', by Antony Orme * https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/california-s-wild-turkey-troubles/ {{- Meleagris Pleistocene birds of North America Fauna of California Pleistocene California Quaternary California Holocene North America Pleistocene first appearances Holocene extinctions Extinct birds of North America Extinct animals of the United States Fossil taxa described in 1909