Most species are in the Australasian region, but the family did not originate there. They evolved in the Northern Hemisphere and invaded the Australasian region a number of times. Fossil kingfishers have been described from Lower Eocene rocks in Wyoming 50 million years ago (mya) and in Germany, around 30-40 million years ago. More recent fossil kingfishers have been described in the Miocene/Pliocene rocks of Australia (5-25 mya).