True owl

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True owls
Eastern Screech Owl
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Vigors, 1825
Genera

some 25, see text
Synonyms

Striginae sensu Sibley & Ahlquist

True owls or typical owls (family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls (Tytonidae). The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order; here, the typical owls are a subfamily Striginae. This is unsupported by more recent research (see Cypselomorphae for details), but the relationships of the owls in general are still unresolved.

Contents

[edit] Systematics

The nearly 200 extant species are assigned to a number of genera, which are in taxonomic order:

  • Genus Megascops: screech-owls, some 20 species
  • Genus Otus: scops-owls; probably paraphyletic, about 45 species
  • Genus Pyrroglaux - Palau Owl
  • Genus Gymnoglaux - Bare-legged Owl or Cuban Screech-owl
  • Genus Ptilopsis - white-faced owls, 2 species
  • Genus Mimizuku - Giant Scops-owl or Mindanao Eagle-owl
  • Genus Bubo - horned owls, eagle-owls and fish-owls; paraphyletic with Nyctea, Ketupa and Scotopelia, some 25 species
  • Genus Strix - earless owls, some 15 species
  • Genus Ciccaba - 4 species
  • Genus Lophostrix - Crested Owl
  • Genus Jubula - Maned Owl
  • Genus Pulsatrix - spectacled owls, 3 species
  • Genus Surnia - Northern Hawk-owl
Tawny Owl
Tawny Owl
  • Genus Glaucidium - pygmy owls, about 30-35 species
  • Genus Xenoglaux - Long-whiskered Owlet
  • Genus Micrathene - Elf Owl
  • Genus Athene - 2-4 species (depending on whether Speotyto and Heteroglaux are included or not)
  • Genus Aegolius - saw-whet owls, 4 species
  • Genus Ninox - Australasian hawk-owls, some 20 species
  • Genus Uroglaux - Papuan Hawk-owl
  • Genus Pseudoscops - Jamaican Owl and possibly Striped Owl
  • Genus Asio - eared owls, 6-7 species
  • Genus Nesasio - Fearful Owl

[edit] Recently extinct

[edit] Late Quaternary prehistoric extinctions

  • Genus Grallistrix - Stilt-owls, 4 species
    • Kaua‘i Stilt-owl, Grallistrix auceps
    • Maui Stilt-owl, Grallistrix erdmani
    • Moloka‘i Stilt-owl, Grallistrix geleches
    • O‘ahu Stilt-owl, Grallistrix orion
  • Genus Ornimegalonyx - Caribbean giant owls, 1-2 species
    • Cuban Giant Owl, Ornimegalonxy oteroi
    • Ornimegalonyx sp. - probably subspecies of O. oteroi

[edit] Fossil record

  • Mioglaux (Late Oligocene? - Early Miocene of WC Europe) - includes "Bubo" poirreiri
  • Intutula (Early/Middle Miocene of WC Europe) - includes "Strix/Ninox" brevis
  • Alasio (Middle Miocene of Vieux-Collonges, France) - includes "Strix" collongensis

Placement unresolved:

  • "Otus/Strix" wintershofensis - fossil (Early/Middle Miocene of Wintershof West, Germany) - may be close to extant genus Ninox (Olson 1985:131)
  • "Strix" edwardsi - fossil (Middle Miocene of Grive-Saint-Alban, France)
  • "Asio" pygmaeus - fossil (Early Pliocene of Odessa, Ukraine)
  • Strigidae gen. et sp. indet. UMMP V31030 (Rexroad Late Pliocene of Kansas, USA) - Strix/Bubo? (Feduccia 1970)
  • Ibiza Owl, Strigidae gen. et sp. indet. - prehistoric (Late Pleistocene/Holocene of Es Pouàs, Ibiza) - see Sánchez Marco 2004

The supposed fossil heron "Ardea" lignitum (Late Pliocene of Germany) was apparently a strigid owl, possibly close to Bubo (Olson 1985:167). The Early - Middle Eocene genus Palaeoglaux from west-central Europe is sometimes placed here, but given its age it is probably better considered an own family for the time being.

[edit] References

  • Feduccia, J. Alan (1970): Some birds of prey from the Upper Pliocene of Kansas. Auk 87(4): 795-797. PDF fulltext
  • Olson, Storrs L. (1985): The fossil record of birds. In: Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): Avian Biology 8: 79-238. Academic Press, New York.
  • Sánchez Marco, Antonio (2004): Avian zoogeographical patterns during the Quaternary in the Mediterranean region and paleoclimatic interpretation. Ardeola 51(1): 91-132. PDF fulltext

[edit] External links

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