Tyranni

Not to be confused with Tyranny.

Tyranni
Temporal range: Early Oligocene–present
Dusky-capped flycatcher (Myiarchus tuberculifer)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Clade: Eupasseres
Suborder: Tyranni
Infraorders

The Tyranni (suboscines) are a suborder of passerine birds that includes more than 1,000 species, a large majority of which are South American. It is named after the type genus Tyrannus. These have a different anatomy of the syrinx musculature than the oscines (songbirds of the larger suborder Passeri), hence the common name of suboscines.

The suboscines originated in South America about 50 million years ago[1] and dispersed into the Old World likely via a trans-Atlantic route during the Oligocene.[2] Their presence in the early Oligocene of Europe is well documented by several fossil specimens.[3]

Systematics

The suborder Tyranni is divided into two infraorders: the Eurylaimides and the Tyrannides. The New Zealand wrens in the family Acanthisittidae are placed in a separate suborder Acanthisitti.[4]

The phylogenetic relationships of the 16 families in the Tyranni suborder is shown below. The cladogram is based on a large molecular genetic study by Carl Oliveros and collaborators published in 2019:[4] The families and the species numbers are from the list maintained by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).[5]

Tyranni
Eurylaimides

Philepittidae – 4 species (asities)

Eurylaimidae – 9 species (eurylaimid broadbills)

Calyptomenidae – 6 species (Asian green broadbills)

Sapayoidae – 1 species (sapayoa)

Pittidae – 44 species (pittas)

Tyrannides
Tyrannida

Pipridae – 55 species (manakins)

Cotingidae – 66 species (cotingas)

Tityridae – 45 species (tityras, becards)

Tyrannidae – 447 species (tyrant flycatchers)

Furnariida

Melanopareiidae – 5 species (crescentchests)

Conopophagidae – 12 species (gnateaters)

Thamnophilidae – 238 species (antbirds)

Grallariidae – 68 species (antpittas)

Rhinocryptidae – 65 species (tapaculos)

Formicariidae – 12 species (antthrushes)

Furnariidae – 315 species (ovenbirds)

The Eurylaimides contain the Old World suboscines – mainly distributed in tropical regions around the Indian Ocean – and a single American species, the sapayoa:[4]

The Tyrannides contain all the suboscines from the Americas except the broad-billed sapayoa. The families listed here are those recognised by the International Ornithologists' Union.[5]

This group has been separated into three parvorders by Sibley & Ahlquist. However, DNA:DNA hybridization did not reliably resolve the suboscine phylogeny. It was eventually determined that there was a simple dichotomy between the antbirds and allies (tracheophones), and the tyrant-flycatchers and allies.[6] Given that the "parvorder" arrangement originally advanced is obsolete (see e.g. Irestedt et al. 2002 for tracheophone phylogeny) — more so if the Eurylaimides are elevated to a distinct suborder — it is better to rank the clades as superfamilies or, if the broadbill group is considered a separate suborder, as infraorders. In the former case, the name Furnarioidea would be available for the tracheophones, whereas "Tyrannoidea", the "bronchophone" equivalent, has not yet been formally defined.[7] In the latter case, the tracheophones would be classified as "Furnariides",[8] while the Tyrannides would be restricted to the tyrant-flycatchers and other "bronchophone" families.

The tracheophones contain the Furnariidae, Thamnophilidae, Formicariidae (probably including most tapaculos), and Conopophagidae. The tyrant-flycatcher clade includes the namesake family, the Tityridae, the Cotingidae, and the Pipridae.

References

  1. ^ Claramunt, S.; Cracraft, J. (2015). "A new time tree reveals Earth history's imprint on the evolution of modern birds". Science Advances. 1 (11): e1501005. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1501005. PMC 4730849.
  2. ^ Selvatti, A. P.; Galvão, A.; Mayr, G.; Miyaki, C. Y.; Russo, C A. de Moraes (2022). "Southern hemisphere tectonics in the Cenozoic shaped the pantropical distribution of parrots and passerines". Journal of Biogeography. 49 (10): 1753–1766. doi:10.1111/jbi.14466.
  3. ^ Bochenski, Z. M.; Tomek, T.; Bujoczek, M.; Salwa, G. (2021). "A new passeriform (Aves: Passeriformes) from the early Oligocene of Poland sheds light on the beginnings of Suboscines". Journal of Ornithology. 162 (2): 593–604. doi:10.1007/s10336-021-01858-0.
  4. ^ a b c Oliveros, C.H.; et al. (2019). "Earth history and the passerine superradiation". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 116 (16): 7916–7925. doi:10.1073/pnas.1813206116. PMC 6475423. PMID 30936315.
  5. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023). "Family Index". IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  6. ^ A conceivable vernacular name would be "bronchophones". This would parallel the German vernacular names, Luftröhrenschreier (tracheophones) and Bronchienschreier (bronchophones).
  7. ^ And thus should not be used without quotation marks.
  8. ^ See remark at "Tyrannoidea". This peculiarity is explained by the fact that Sibley & Ahlquist's analyses erroneously suggested an overly complex phylogeny for the tracheophones, and a much simpler one for the tyrant-flycatchers and allies.

Further reading