Overview
Taxonomy
The Subclass Avialae is a member of the Class Sauropsida. Here is the complete "parentage" of Avialae:
- Domain: Eukaryota
Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
- Subkingdom: Bilateria
(Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
- Branch: Deuterostomia
Grobben, 1908 - Deuterostomes
- Infrakingdom: Chordonia
(Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Phylum: Chordata
Bateson, 1885 - Chordates
- Subphylum: Vertebrata
Cuvier, 1812 - Vertebrates
- Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
auct. - Jawed Vertebrates
- Superclass: Tetrapoda
Goodrich, 1930 - Tetrapods
- Class: Sauropsida
Linnaeus, 1758
- Subclass: Avialae Gauthier, 1986
- Class: Sauropsida
Linnaeus, 1758
- Superclass: Tetrapoda
Goodrich, 1930 - Tetrapods
- Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
auct. - Jawed Vertebrates
- Subphylum: Vertebrata
Cuvier, 1812 - Vertebrates
- Phylum: Chordata
Bateson, 1885 - Chordates
- Infrakingdom: Chordonia
(Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Branch: Deuterostomia
Grobben, 1908 - Deuterostomes
- Subkingdom: Bilateria
(Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
- Kingdom: Animalia
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
The Subclass Avialae is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Infraclass (2): Archosauromorpha · Aves
- Order (44): Aepyornithiformes · Alexornithiformes · Anseriformes · Apodiformes · Apterygiformes · Archaeopterygiformes · Ardeiformes · Avetheropoda · Balaenicipitiformes · Caprimulgiformes · Casuariiformes · Charadriiformes · Ciconiiformes · Coliiformes · Columbiformes · Coraciiformes · Cuculiformes · Diatrymiformes · Dinornithiformes · Enantiornithes · Falconiformes · Galliformes · Gaviiformes · Gruiformes · Hesperornithiformes · Ichthyornithiformes · Lithornithiformes · Opisthocomiformes · Oviraptorosauria · Passeriformes · Pelecaniformes · Piciformes · Podicipediformes · Procellariiformes · Protoaviformes · Psittaciformes · Ralliformes · Saurischia · Sphenisciformes · Strigiformes · Struthioniformes · Tinamiformes · Trogoniformes · Turniciformes
Orders
Aepyornithiformes
Alexornithiformes
Alexornithidae is an extinct family of enantiornithine birds. [more]
Anseriformes
The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living species of birds in three extant families: the Anhimidae (the screamers), Anseranatidae (the Magpie Goose), and the Anatidae, which includes over 140 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans. [more]
Apodiformes
Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts (Apodidae), the tree swifts (Hemiprocnidae), and the hummingbirds (Trochilidae). In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodimorphae in which hummingbirds are separated as a new order, Trochiliformes. With nearly 450 species identified to date, they are the most diverse order of birds after the passerines. [more]
Apterygiformes
A Order in the Kingdom Animalia.[1] [more]
Archaeopterygiformes
The Archaeopterygidae is a group of maniraptoran dinosaurs that lived during the late Jurassic and period. [more]
Ardeiformes
Avetheropoda
Balaenicipitiformes
Caprimulgiformes
Casuariiformes
The bird family Casuariidae has four surviving members: the three species of cassowary, and the only remaining species of Emu. The emus were formerly classified in their own family, Dromaiidae, but are regarded as sufficiently closely related to the cassowaries to be part of the same family. [more]
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic (sea birds), some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick forest. [more]
Ciconiiformes
Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene. At present the only family retained in the order is the storks, Ciconiidae. [more]
Coliiformes
The mousebirds are a small group of (possibly near passerine) birds which have no known close affinities to other groups, though they and the parrots and cockatoos (Psittaciformes) may be closer to each other than to other birds. The mousebirds are therefore given order status as Coliiformes. This group is confined to sub-Saharan Africa, and is the only bird order confined entirely to that continent. They had a wider range in prehistoric times and apparently evolved in Europe. [more]
Columbiformes
Columbiformes are an avian order that includes the very widespread and successful doves and pigeons, classified in the family Columbidae, and the extinct Dodo and the Rodrigues Solitaire, long classified as a second family Raphidae. 313 species, found worldwide, comprise the Columbiformes order. Like many birds, all Columbiformes are monogamous. Unlike most other birds, however, they are capable of drinking by sucking up water, without needing to tilt the head back. [more]
Coraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills. They generally have syndactyly, with three forward-pointing toes (and toes 3 & 4 fused at their base), though in many kingfishers one of these is missing. [more]
Cuculiformes
The near passerine bird order Cuculiformes traditionally included three families as below: [more]
Diatrymiformes
Dinornithiformes
Enantiornithes
Falconiformes
The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways. [more]
Galliformes
Galliformes are an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding domestic or game birds, containing turkey, grouse, chicken, New and Old World Quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, and the Cracidae. Common names are gamefowl or gamebirds, landfowl, gallinaceous birds or galliforms. "Wildfowl" or just "fowl" are also often used for Galliformes, but usually these terms also refer to waterfowl (Anseriformes), and occasionally to other commonly hunted birds. [more]
Gaviiformes
A Order in the Kingdom Animalia.[2] [more]
Gruiformes
The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like". [more]
Hesperornithiformes
Ichthyornithiformes
Lithornithiformes
Opisthocomiformes
A Order in the Kingdom Animalia.[3] [more]
Oviraptorosauria
Passeriformes
Pelecaniformes
A Order in the Kingdom Animalia.[4] [more]
Piciformes
Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. The Piciformes contain about 67 living genera with a little over 400 species, of which the Picidae (woodpeckers and relatives) make up about half. [more]
Podicipediformes
A Order in the Kingdom Animalia.[5] [more]
Procellariiformes
Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still called tubenoses in English, they are often referred to collectively as the petrels, a term that has been applied to all Procellariiformes or more commonly all the families except the albatrosses. They are almost exclusively pelagic (feeding in the open ocean). They have a cosmopolitan distribution across the world's oceans, with the highest diversity being around New Zealand. [more]
Protoaviformes
Psittaciformes
Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoidae ('true' parrots), the Cacatuoidae (cockatoos) and the Strigopoidae (New Zealand parrots). Parrots have a generally pantropical distribution with several species inhabiting temperate regions in the Southern Hemisphere as well. The greatest diversity of parrots is found in South America and Australasia. [more]
Ralliformes
Saurischia
Saurischia ( saw-ris-kee-?, from the Greek sauros (sa????) meaning 'lizard' and ischion (?s????) meaning 'hip joint') is one of the two orders, or basic divisions, of dinosaurs. In 1888, Harry Seeley classified dinosaurs into two orders, based on their hip structure. Saurischians ('lizard-hipped') are distinguished from the ornithischians ('bird-hipped') by retaining the ancestral configuration of bones in the hip. [more]
Sphenisciformes
A Order in the Kingdom Animalia.[6] [more]
Strigiformes
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions (e.g. the Northern Hawk Owl). Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except Antarctica, most of Greenland and some remote islands. Though owls are typically solitary, the literary collective noun for a group of owls is a parliament. Owls are characterized by their small beaks and wide faces, and are divided into two families: the typical owls, Strigidae; and the barn-owls, Tytonidae. [more]
Struthioniformes
A Order in the Kingdom Animalia.[7] [more]
Tinamiformes
The tinamous are a family comprising 47 species of birds found in Central and South America. One of the most ancient living groups of bird, they are related to the ratites. Generally ground dwelling, they are found in a range of habitats. [more]
Trogoniformes
The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. The family contains 39 species in eight genera. The fossil record of the trogons dates back 49 million years to the mid-Eocene. They might constitute a member of the basal radiation of the order Coraciiformes. The word "trogon" is Greek for "nibbling" and refers to the fact that these birds gnaw holes in trees to make their nests. [more]
Turniciformes
Buttonquail or hemipodes are members of a small family of birds, Turnicidae, which resemble, but are unrelated to, the quails of Phasianidae. They inhabit warm grasslands in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia. There are 16 species in two genera, with most species being found in the genus Turnix and only one being found in the genus Ortyxelos. [more]
At least 109 species and subspecies belong to the Order Turniciformes.
More info about the Order Turniciformes may be found here.
Bibliography
- Georgiev BB, Murai E, Rausch RL, The Journal of parasitology. 1996 Feb;82(1):140-5.
- Ogawa A, Murata K, Mizuno S, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 1998 Apr;95(8):4415-8.
- Work TM, Journal of wildlife diseases. 1996 Oct;32(4):643-57.
Footnotes
- http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=22822
- http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=22770
- http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=22824
- http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=22773
- http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=22771
- http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=22825
- http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=21651
Sources
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