Neoaves
From Palaeos
Most recent phylogenetic studies have agreed that modern birds fall into three clades – Palaeognathae, containing the ratites and tinamous, Galloanserae containing the gamebirds and waterfowl, and Neoaves containing everything else. Within the Neoaves, however, relationships have long been almost completely unresolved. Most references still use the classification established by Wetmore for the sake of convenience, but it has long been suspected that many of the classical orders (such as Ciconiiformes) are polyphyletic and represent ecological rather than phylogenetic assemblages.
In 2004, Fain and Houde published a phylogenetic analysis using the β-fibrinogen gene with a rather radical result - the Neoaves fell into two major clades, with the smaller of the two clades, the Metaves, composed of an assemblage of birds of which most members had never previously been suspected as relatives, and had indeed been assigned to orders whose other members fell within the Coronaves. As pointed out by the authors, about the only feature shared by all the members of Metaves was that they had all been regarded as phylogenetically uncertain. Despite the heterodoxy of the results, they were well-supported by both bootstrapping and indel distribution. A later, independent analysis by Ericson et al. (2006) using a larger assortment of genes also recovered the same result. It also supported a division of the Coronaves into three major clades – the Charadriiformes, a clade roughly corresponding to the "higher land birds" and a clade composed mostly of waterbirds (this division had been found by Fain and Houde, but not well-suppported). The tree below is based on the results of Ericson et al. – time will tell whether they continue to be supported.
<==Neoaves [Ciconiiformes, Gruiformes, Paludicolae, Pelecaniformes, Steganopodes] | i. s.: Gracilitarsus Mayr 1998 [Gracilitarsidae] | `--*G. mirabilis Mayr 1998 | Eutreptodactylus itaboraiensis Baird & Vickers-Rich 1997 | Sylphornis [Sylphornithidae] | `--S. bretouensis | Cladornis Ameghino 1895 [Cladornidae, Cladornithes, Cladornithidae] | `--*C. pachypus Ameghino 1895 | Odontopterygiformes | |--Odontopteryx [Odontopterygidae] | | `--O. toliapica | `--Pelagornithidae [Pseudodontornithidae] | |--Pelagornis miocaenus Lartet 1857 | |--Neptuniavis Harrison & Walker 1977 | |--Osteodontornis orri | `--Pseudodontornis [incl. Neodontornis Harrison & Walker 1976] | |--P. longirostris | `--P. stirtoni Howard & Warter 1969 [=Neodontornis stirtoni] |--Metaves | |--Caprimulgiformes | `--+--Opisthocomidae [Opisthocomi, Opisthocomiformes] | | |--Filholornis | | |--Hoazinoides magdalenae | | `--Opisthocomus Illiger 1811 | | `--O. hoazin (Müller 1776) | `--+--Columbiformes | | |--Columbidae | | `--Pteroclidae (see below for synonymy) | | |--Syrrhaptes Illiger 1811 [Syrrhaptidae] | | | `--S. paradoxus | | `--Pterocles Temminck 1815 | | |--P. alchata | | |--P. burchelli [incl. P. burchelli delabati Winterbottom 1964] | | |--P. gutturalis Smith 1836 | | |--P. larvatus | | `--P. validus | `--+--+--+--Messelornithidae | | | `--Eurypyga Illiger 1811 [Eurypygae, Eurypygidae] | | | `--E. helias | | `--+--Rhynochetus Verreaux & des Murs 1860 [Rhynocheti, Rhynochetidae] | | | `--R. jubatus | | `--Aptornis Mantell 1848 [=Apterornis Owen 1848; Aptornithidae] | | |--A. defossor Owen 1871 [=A. otidiformis defossor] | | `--A. otidiformis (Owen 1844) [=Dinornis otidiformis] | `--+--+--+--Phoenicopteriformes | | | `--Podicipedidae | | `--Mesitornithidae [Mesitidae, Mesoenatidae, Mesoenatides] | | |--Monias Oustalet & Grandidier 1903 [Moniidae] | | | `--M. benschi | | `--Mesitornis Bonaparte 1855 (see below for synonymy) | | |--M. unicolor (Des Murs 1845) [=Mesoenas unicolor] | | `--M. variegata | `--Phaethontidae [Phaethontes] | |--Prophaeton shrubsolei | `--Phaethon Linnaeus 1758 | |--P. aethereus | |--P. lepturus | | |--P. l. lepturus | | `--P. l. dorotheae Mathews 1913 | `--P. rubricauda Boddaert 1783 | |--P. r. rubricauda | `--P. r. roseotincta Mathews 1926 `--Coronaves [Ciconiae, Gaviae, Pelecani, Ralliformes] | i. s.: Cyphornithidae | |--Cyphornis magnus | `--Palaeochenoides miocaenus |--+--Charadriiformes | `--Anomalogonatae `--+--Otididae `--+--Cuculidae |--+--Grues | `--Musophagidae `--+--+--Procellariiformes | `--Gaviiformes | |--Lonchodytes [Lonchodytidae] | `--Gaviidae [Colymbidae, Eudytidae, Urinatoridae] | |--Eupterornis remensis | `--Gavia Forster 1788 (see below for synonymy) | |--*G. immer (Brünnich 1764) [=*Colymbus immer] | |--G. adamsii | |--G. arctica | |--G. pacifica | `--G. stellata `--+--+--Ciconiidae | `--+--Spheniscidae | `--+--Suloidea | `--Fregata Lacépède 1799 (see below for synonymy) | |--F. andrewsi | |--F. aquila | |--F. ariel (Gray 1845) | |--F. magnificens | `--F. minor (Gmelin 1789) [=Pelecanus minor] `--+--+--+--Scopus Brisson 1760 [Scopidae] | | | |--S. umbretta | | | `--S. xenopus Olson 1984 | | `--Balaeniceps Gould 1850 [Balaenicipitidae] | | `--B. rex | `--Pelecanus Linnaeus 1758 [Pelecanidae, Pelicanea, Pelicanidae] | |--P. conspicillatus Temminck 1824 (see below for synonymy) | |--P. crispus | |--P. erythrorhynchos | |--P. gracilis | |--P. occidentalis | |--P. onocrotalus [incl. P. roseus] | |--P. philippensis | |--P. rufescens | `--P. thagus `--+--Threskiornithidae `--Ardeidae [Ardeae] | i. s.: Butorides | |--B. striatus | `--B. virescens | Syrigma sibilatrix | Pilherodius pileatus | Gorsachius | |--G. goisagi (Temminck 1835) | |--G. magnificus | `--G. melanolophus (Raffles 1822) | Melanophoyx ardesiaca | Dichromanassa rufescens | Nyctanassa violacea | Hydranassa caerulea | Tigrisoma lineatum | Agamia agami | Proherodius oweni | Heterocnus cabanisi |--Ardeinae `--Botaurinae
Nomen nudum: Aptornis bulleri Owen in Buller 1888
Inorganic: Opisthocomidus opisthocomidus minilorientalus Okamura 1987
Fregata Lacépède 1799 [incl. Atagen Kaup 1829, Attagen Möhring 1752 (pre-Linnean), Tachypetes Vieillot 1816; Atagenidae, Attagenidae, Fregatae, Fregatidae, Tachypetidae]
Gavia Forster 1788 [=Colymbus Linnaeus 1758 (nom. rej.); incl. Eudytes Illiger 1811, Mergus Brisson 1860 non Linnaeus 1758, Urinator Lacépède 1799]
Mesitornis Bonaparte 1855 [incl. Mesites Geoffroy-St. Hilaire 1838 non Schönherr 1838, Mesoenas Reichenbach 1862]
Pelecanus conspicillatus (Temminck 1824) [incl. P. conspicillatus novaezealandiae Scarlett 1966]
Pteroclidae [Pterocleidae, Pterocleiformes, Pterocletes, Pteroclididae, Pterocliformes]
* Type species of generic name indicated
[edit] References
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Credits
Christopher 04:29, 12 June 2008 (PDT)
