Overview
Taxonomy
The Suborder Bucerotes is a member of the Order Coraciiformes. Here is the complete "parentage" of Bucerotes:
- 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
- Infraclass: Aves
(C. Linnaeus, 1758) - Birds
- Cohort: Neognathae
Pycraft, 1900
- Superorder: Passerimorphae
Sibley et al., 1988
- Order: Coraciiformes
Forbes, 1884 - Kingfishers, Rollers
- Suborder: Bucerotes Fürbringer, 1888 - Hornbills
- Order: Coraciiformes
Forbes, 1884 - Kingfishers, Rollers
- Superorder: Passerimorphae
Sibley et al., 1988
- Cohort: Neognathae
Pycraft, 1900
- Infraclass: Aves
(C. Linnaeus, 1758) - Birds
- 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 Suborder Bucerotes is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Infraorder (2): Bucerotides · Upupides
- Series (1): Amniota
- Family (3): Bucerotidae · Phoeniculidae · Upupidae
Families
Bucerotidae
Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly-colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. Both the common English and the scientific name of the family refer to the shape of the bill, "buceros" being "cow horn" in Greek. In addition, they possess a two-lobed kidney. Hornbills are the only birds in which the first two neck vertebrae (the axis and atlas) are fused together; this probably provides a more stable platform for carrying the bill. The family is omnivorous, feeding on fruit and small animals. They are monogamous breeders nesting in natural cavities in trees and sometimes cliffs. A number of species of hornbill are threatened with extinction, mostly insular species with small ranges. [more]
Phoeniculidae
The Wood hoopoes and scimitarbills are a small African family, Phoeniculidae, of near passerine birds. They live south of the Sahara Desert and are not migratory. While the family is now restricted to sub-Saharan Africa, fossil evidence shows that the family once had a larger distribution. Fossils attributed to this family have been found in Miocene rocks in Germany. [more]
Upupidae
The Hoopoe () (Upupa epops) is a colorful bird that is found across Afro-Eurasia, notable for its distinctive 'crown' of feathers. It is the only extant species in the family Upupidae. One insular species, the Giant Hoopoe of Saint Helena, is extinct, and the Madagascar subspecies of the Hoopoe is sometimes elevated to a full species. Like the Latin name upupa, the English name is an onomatopoetic form which imitates the cry of the bird. [more]
At least 23 species and subspecies belong to the Family Upupidae.
More info about the Family Upupidae may be found here.
Sources
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