This family is quite old, a living fossil, having apparently diverged before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event — the relative "Vegavis iaai" lived some 68-67 million years ago. The fossil record is limited, nonetheless. The enigmatic genus "Anatalavis" (Hornerstown Late Cretaceous or Early Paleocene of New Jersey, USA - London Clay Early Eocene of Walton-on-the-Naze, England) is sometimes considered to be the earliest known anseranatid. Other Paleogene birds sometimes considered magpie-geese are the genera "Geranopsis" from the Hordwell Formation Late Eocene to the Early Oligocene of England and "Anserpica" from the Late Oligocene of Billy-Créchy (France).