Megalaimidae Temporal range: Pleistocene to Recent | |
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Blue-throated barbet, Meghalaya, India | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Piciformes |
Suborder: | Pici |
Infraorder: | Ramphastides |
Family: | Megalaimidae Blyth, 1852 |
Genera | |
Megalaimidae, the Asian barbets, are a family of birds, comprising two genera with 35 species native to the forests of the Indomalayan realm from Tibet to Indonesia. They were once clubbed with all barbets in the family Capitonidae but the Old World species have been found to be distinctive and are considered, along with the Lybiidae and Ramphastidae, as sister groups.
In the past the species were placed in three genera, Caloramphus, Megalaima and Psilopogon, [1] but studies show that Psilopogon to be nested within the clade of Megalaima. Since members of this clade are better treated under a single genus, they have been moved to the genus Psilopogon which was described and erected earlier than Megalaima and is therefore chosen on the basis of taxonomic priority principles. Nearly all members of the family are now in the genus Psilopogon, with the exception of those in Caloramphus, which are thought to have genetically diverged from the common ancestor around 21.32 million years ago. The latter species are distinct enough to warrant placement in a subfamily Caloramphinae. [2] [3] The family name is derived from that of the genus Megalaima which means ‘large throat’, from the Greek mega (μέγας, ‘large, great’) and laimos ( λαιμός , ‘throat’). [4]
The phylogenetic relationship between the Asian barbets and the eight other families in the order Piciformes is shown in the cladogram below. [5] [6] The number of species in each family is taken from the list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela C. Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC). [7]
Piciformes |
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Subfamily Megalaiminae
Image | Genus | Living Species |
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Psilopogon Müller, S., 1836 |
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Subfamily Caloramphinae
Image | Genus | Living Species |
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Caloramphus Lesson, 1839 |
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The family Psittacidae or holotropical parrots is one of three families of true parrots. It comprises the 12 species of subfamily Psittacinae and 167 of subfamily Arinae including several species that have gone extinct in recent centuries. Some of the most iconic birds in the world are represented here, such as the blue-and-yellow macaw among the New World parrots and the grey parrot among the Afrotropical parrots.
The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World, with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat and northern wheatear, found also in North America. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing. The family is relatively large and includes 351 species, which are divided into 54 genera.
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 71 living genera with a little over 450 species, of which the Picidae make up about half.
The New World barbets are a family, Capitonidae, of 15 birds in the order Piciformes, which inhabit humid forests in Central and South America. They are closely related to the toucans.
Campephilus is a genus of large American woodpeckers in the family Picidae.
Euphonias are members of the genus Euphonia, a group of Neotropical birds in the finch family. They and the chlorophonias comprise the subfamily Euphoniinae.
Saltator is a genus of passerine birds in the tanager family Thraupidae that are found in Central and South America. They have thick bills, relatively long tails and strong legs and feet. Before the introduction of molecular genetic methods in the 21st century these species were placed in the cardinal family Cardinalidae.
The white-cheeked barbet or small green barbet is a species of Asian barbet found in southern India. It is very similar to the more widespread brown-headed barbet, but this species has a distinctive supercilium and a broad white cheek stripe below the eye and is found in the forest areas of the Western Ghats, parts of the Eastern Ghats and adjoining hills. The brown-headed barbet has an orange eye-ring but the calls are very similar and the two species occur together in some of the drier forests to the east of the Western Ghats. Like all other Asian barbets, they are mainly frugivorous, and use their bills to excavate nest cavities in trees.
The blue-throated barbet is a green Asian barbet native to the foothills of the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. It inhabits lowland and montane forests at elevations of 200–2,000 m (660–6,560 ft), frequenting fruiting trees. Due to its green colour, it is difficult to spot but is easily located by its continual loud calls. Sexes are similar in most respects and share domestic duties.
Lybiidae is a family of birds also known as the African barbets. There are 42 species ranging from the type genus Lybius of forest interior to the tinkerbirds (Pogoniulus) of forest and scrubland. They are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the far south-west of South Africa.
The great barbet is an Asian barbet native to the Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia, where it inhabits forests up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) altitude. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004 because of its wide distribution.
The golden-throated barbet is an Asian barbet native to Southeast Asia, where it inhabits foremost forests between 900 and 2,700 m altitude. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution and stable population.
The black-browed barbet is an Asian barbet native to Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, where it inhabits foremost forests between 600 and 2,000 m altitude. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution and stable population.
Upucerthia is a genus of bird in the family Furnariidae.
The red-crowned barbet is part of one of the two subfamilies of Megalaimidae birds. it is in the order of woodpeckers (Piciformes) and their relatives. It is distributed in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and plantations with a distribution area of 3,180,000 km2 (1,230,000 sq mi).
Mulleripicus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. They are found in South and Southeast Asia. The genus forms part of the woodpecker subfamily Picinae and has a sister relationship to the genus Dryocopus whose species are widely distributed in Eurasia and the Americas.
Psilopogon is a genus of Old World barbets that used to include only a single species, the fire-tufted barbet. Results of molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate that the genus is nested within an evolutionary branch consisting of Asian barbets that were formerly placed in the genus Megalaima proposed by George Robert Gray in 1841. Since Psilopogon was proposed by Salomon Müller already in 1835, this name takes priority.
The toucan barbets are the small birds in the genus Semnornis. This was often included in the paraphyletic barbets but recently usually considered a distinct family Semnornithidae; alternatively, all barbets might be moved to the toucan family Ramphastidae as a subfamily, Semnornithinae. It contains only two species, the toucan barbet and the prong-billed barbet.
The Harpiinae is a bird of prey subfamily which consists of large broad-winged species native to tropical forests. There are 4 genera in the subfamily, all monotypic.
Pogonornis is a genus of African barbets from the family Lybiidae. This genus ranges across sub-Saharan Africa.