Mimus

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Mimus
Chilean Mockingbird.jpg
Chilean mockingbird (M. thenca)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Mimidae
Genus: Mimus
F. Boie, 1826
Type species
Turdus polyglottos
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

14 recognized species, see text

Synonyms

Nesomimus Ridgway, 1890
OrpheusSwainson, 1827

Mimus is a genus of passerine birds in the family Mimidae. It contains the typical mockingbirds .

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus Mimus was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie to contain a single species, Turdus polyglottis Linnaeus, 1758, the northern mockingbird, which becomes the type species by monotypy. [1] [2] The genus name is Latin for "mimic". [3] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2006 found that the genus Nesomimus, containing the species endemic to the Galápagos islands, was embedded in the genus Mimus. [4] The genera were therefore merged under the earlier name, Mimus. [5] The position of the Galápagos species within the genus Mimus was confirmed by a more comprehensive study published in 2016. [6]

The genus contains 14 species: [7]

The Nesomimus group includes the following species endemic to the Galápagos Islands:

The Nesomimus group is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. These mockingbirds were important in Charles Darwin's development of the theory of evolution by natural selection.

Previous to the merger between Nesomimus and Mimus scientists have proved in 1971 that both groups can produce hybrids. Robert I. Bowman and Anne Carter have studied a female Galápagos mockingbird and a male from the long-tailed mockingbird subspecies Mimus longicaudatus punensis that have interbred. They raised a hybrid offspring to adulthood. [8]

References

  1. ↑ Boie, Friedrich (1826). "Generalübersicht der ornithologischen Ordnungen, Familien und Gattungen". Isis von Oken (in German). 19. Cols 969–981 [972].
  2. ↑ Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1960). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 9. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 442.
  3. ↑ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p.  255. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ↑ Arbogast, B.S.; Drovetski, S.V.; Curry, R.L.; Boag, P.T.; Seutin, G.; Grant, P.R.; Grant, B.R.; Anderson, D.J. (2006). "The origin and diversification of Galapagos mockingbirds". Evolution. 60 (2): 370–382. doi:10.1111/j.0014-3820.2006.tb01113.x.
  5. ↑ Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 572, Note 7. ISBN   978-0-9568611-2-2.
  6. ↑ Lovette, I.J.; Arbogast, B.S.; Curry, R.L.; Zink, R.M.; Botero, C.A.; Sullivan, J.P.; Talaba, A.L.; Harris, R.B.; Rubenstein, D.R.; Ricklefs, R.E.; Bermingham, E. (2012). "Phylogenetic relationships of the mockingbirds and thrashers (Aves: Mimidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 63 (2): 219–229. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.07.009.
  7. ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Nuthatches, Wallcreeper, treecreepers, mockingbirds, starlings, oxpeckers". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  8. ↑ Bowman, R. I. and A. Carter (1971). "Egg-pecking behavior in Galapagos mockingbirds". Living Bird 10:243-270. ISSN   1059-521X.

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