Apodiformes
Apodiformes Temporal range:
Late Paleocene to present | |
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Bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), the smallest bird in the World | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Clade: | Strisores |
Clade: | Daedalornithes |
Order: | Apodiformes Peters , 1940
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Families | |
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Range of the swifts and hummingbirds. | |
Synonyms | |
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Traditionally, the
Description
As their name ("footless" in Greek) suggests, their legs are small and have limited function aside from perching. The feet are covered with bare skin rather than the scales (scutes) that other birds have. Another shared characteristic is long wings with short, stout humerus bones.[1] The evolution of these wing characteristics has provided the hummingbird with ideal wings for hovering.[2]
The hummingbirds, swifts, and treeswifts (also known as crested swifts) share other anatomical similarities with one another, as well as similarities (notably as to the skull) with their probable closest living relatives, the
Evolution
The Apodiformes evolved in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Early Eocene
The placement of the Aegialornithidae is not quite clear. Various analyses place them sufficiently close to the Apodiformes to be included here, or into the unique owlet-nightjar lineage in the Cypselomorphae.
Taxonomy
Phylogeny of Apodiformes[7] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ORDER APODIFORMES
- Family †AegialornithidaeLydekker, 1891 [Primapinae Harrison, 1984c]
- Genus †Primapus Harrison & Walker, 1975
- Genus †Aegialornis Lydekker, 1891
- Suborder Apodi
- Genus †Procypseloides Harrison, 1984c
- Genus †Laputavis Dyke, 2001b
- Genus †Scaniacypselus Harrison, 1984
- Family †Eocypselidae Harrison 1984
- Genus †Eocypselus Harrison, 1984
- Family HemiprocnidaeOberholser, 1906 (treeswifts)
- Family ApodidaeOlphe-Galliard, 1887 (swifts)
- Suborder Trochili
- Genus †Palescyvus Karchu, 1988
- Family †Cypselavidae Mourer-Chauviré, 2006
- Genus †Argornis Karchu, 1999
- Genus †Cypselavus Gaillard, 1908
- Genus †Parargornis Mayr, 2003
- Family †Jungornithidae Karchu, 1988
- Genus †Jungornis Karchu, 1988
- Family TrochilidaeVigors, 1825 (hummingbirds)
See also
References
- ISBN 0-226-87013-8
- ^ doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120[0145:POETSA2.0.CO;2] PDF fulltext
- ^ Mayr, Gerald (2002): Osteological evidence for paraphyly of the avian order Caprimulgiformes (nightjars and allies). Journal für Ornithologie 143: 82–97. PDF fulltext
- .
- ^ Christopher R. Scotese. "During the Early Cenozoic India began to Collide with Asia". Paleomap project. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
- ^ Somewhat doubtful, as this is difficult to reconcile with the other aegialornithid fossils and Primapus.
- ^ Haaramo, Mikko. "Apodiformes – housemartins, hummingbirds, and relatives". Mikko's Phylogeny Archive. Retrieved 30 December 2017.