Megalaimidae

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Megalaimidae
Temporal range: Pleistocene to Recent
Blue-throated Barbet Sasatgre West Garo Oct24 A7CR 03684.jpg
Blue-throated barbet, Meghalaya, India
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Suborder: Pici
Infraorder: Ramphastides
Family: Megalaimidae
Blyth, 1852
Genera

Psilopogon
Caloramphus

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.

Contents

Taxonomy

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

Galbulidae – jacamars (18 species)

Bucconidae – puffbirds (38 species)

Indicatoridae – honeyguides (16 species)

Picidae – woodpeckers (240 species)

Megalaimidae – Asian barbets (35 species)

Lybiidae – African barbets (42 species)

Capitonidae – New World barbets (15 species)

Semnornithidae – toucan barbets (2 species)

Ramphastidae – toucans (43 species)

Classification

Great Barbet (48703743552).jpg
Great barbet
Lineated Barbet (Megalaima lineata) - Flickr - Lip Kee (1).jpg
Lineated barbet
Red throated barbet.jpg
Red-throated barbet

Subfamily Megalaiminae

ImageGenusLiving Species
Lineated Barbet (daagi bsntbauri) 2.jpg Psilopogon Müller, S., 1836

Subfamily Caloramphinae

ImageGenusLiving Species
Brown Barbet (Calorhamphus fuliginosus hayii).jpg Caloramphus Lesson, 1839

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old World flycatcher</span> Family of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piciformes</span> Order of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New World barbet</span> Near passerine birds from the family Capitonidae of the order Piciformes

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.

<i>Campephilus</i> Genus of birds

Campephilus is a genus of large American woodpeckers in the family Picidae.

<i>Euphonia</i> Genus of birds

Euphonias are members of the genus Euphonia, a group of Neotropical birds in the finch family. They and the chlorophonias comprise the subfamily Euphoniinae.

<i>Saltator</i> Genus of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-cheeked barbet</span> Species of bird found in southern India

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-throated barbet</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lybiidae</span> Family of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great barbet</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden-throated barbet</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-browed barbet</span> Species of bird

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.

<i>Upucerthia</i> Genus of birds

Upucerthia is a genus of bird in the family Furnariidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-crowned barbet</span> Species of bird

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).

<i>Mulleripicus</i> Genus of birds

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.

<i>Psilopogon</i> Genus of birds

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.

<i>Semnornis</i> Genus of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harpiinae</span> Subfamily of birds

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.

<i>Pogonornis</i> Genus of birds

Pogonornis is a genus of African barbets from the family Lybiidae. This genus ranges across sub-Saharan Africa.

References

  1. Short, L. L.; Horne, J.F.M. (2004). "Family Capitonidae (barbets)". In del Hoyo J.; Elliott A.; Christie D. A. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 7. Jamacars to Woodpeckers . Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN   978-8487334375.
  2. Ericson, P. G. P. (2012). "Evolution of terrestrial birds in three continents: biogeography and parallel radiations". Journal of Biogeography. 39 (5): 813–824. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02650.x.
  3. den Tex, R.-J.; Leonard, J. A. (2013). "A molecular phylogeny of Asian barbets: Speciation and extinction in the tropics". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 68 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.03.004. PMID   23511217.
  4. David, N. (2008). "Megalaiminae: the correct subfamily-group name for the Asian barbets". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 128 (1): 72.
  5. Kuhl, H.; Frankl-Vilches, C.; Bakker, A.; Mayr, G.; Nikolaus, G.; Boerno, S.T.; Klages, S.; Timmermann, B.; Gahr, M. (2021). "An unbiased molecular approach using 3′-UTRs resolves the avian family-level tree of life". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 38 (1): 108–127. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msaa191 . hdl: 21.11116/0000-0007-B72A-C .
  6. Stiller, J.; et al. (2024). "Complexity of avian evolution revealed by family-level genomes". Nature. 629: 851–860. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07323-1 . PMC   11111414 .
  7. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "IOC World Bird List Version 14.1". International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 17 June 2024.