Cracidae

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Cracidae
Temporal range: Oligocene to recent
Yellow-knobbed curassow (Crax daubentoni)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Cracidae
Rafinesque, 1815
Subfamilies
  • Cracinae
  • Penelopinae

The chachalacas, guans and curassows are birds in the family Cracidae. These are species of tropical and subtropical Central and South America. The range of one species, the plain chachalaca, just reaches southernmost parts of Texas in the United States. Two species, the Trinidad piping guan and the rufous-vented chachalaca occur on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago respectively.

Systematics and evolution

The family Cracidae was introduced (as Craxia) by the French

which?
]

Phylogeny

Cladogram based on the study by De Chen and collaborators published in 2021.

Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithologists' Union.[4]

Cracidae

Penelopina – highland guan

Chamaepetes – guans (2 species)

Penelope – guans (16 species)

Aburria
– wattled guan

Pipile
– piping guans (5 species)

Oreophasis – horned guan

Ortalis – chachalacas (16 species)

Crax – curassows (7 species)

Pauxi – curassows (3 species)

Mitu – curassows (4 species)

Nothocrax – nocturnal curassow

Classification

Extinct species assignment follows the Mikko's Phylogeny Archive[5] and Paleofile.com websites.[6]

Alternatively, all subfamilies except the Penelopinae could be lumped into the Cracinae. As the initial radiation of cracids is not well resolved at present (see below), the system used here seems more appropriate. It is also quite probable that entirely

fossil record
is utterly incomplete.

Evolution

Spix's guan, Penelope jacquacu.

Recent research has analyzed

biogeographical data to study the phylogenetic relationships of cracid birds, namely the relationships among the genera (Pereira et al., 2002), the relationships between the species of curassows (Pereira & Baker, 2004) and between the piping- and wattled guans (Grau et al., 2005). The traditional groups—chachalacas, guans, and curassows—are verified as distinct clades, but the horned guan
represents the sole survivor of a very distinct and ancient lineage.

In addition, the molecular data suggest that the Cracidae originated in the

mya
.

The genera Procrax and Palaeonossax are often considered cracids, but this is not certain at all; they may belong to a related extinct lineage. It is unfortunate that of these too, few good fossils are known, as they date to about the time when the modern groups presumably diverged. Should they be cracids, they are not unlikely to represent either some of the last members of the family before guans, chachalacas, etc. evolved, or very early representatives of these lineages.

Thus, the assumption that the modern diversity started to evolve in the late

Alberta, Canada which are similar to chachalaca eggs (Zelenitsky et al., 1996), but in the absence of bone material their relationships cannot be determined except that they are apparently not from a dinosaur
.

By comparison, speciation within curassows (

Aburria
(Grau et al., 2005).

Originally interpreted as a

Meleagris antiquus was referred to as Cracidae in 1964 by Pierce Brodkorb. It is nowadays considered unambiguously to be a Cariamiformes under Bathornithidae, and indeed a very different animal from cracids, being a 2 meter tall terrestrial predator. Similarly, Palaeophasianus has been reassigned to Geranoididae, a lineage of large, ostrich-like stem-cranes.[7]

Description

Bare-faced curassow (Crax fasciolata)

Cracids are large birds, similar in general appearance to turkeys. The guans and curassows live in trees, but the smaller chachalacas are found in more open scrubby habitats. Many species are fairly long tailed, which may be an aide to navigating their largely arboreal existence. They are generally dull-plumaged, but the curassows and some guans have colourful facial ornaments. The birds in this family are particularly vocal, with the chachalacas taking their name from the sound of their call.[8] Cracids range in size from the little chachalaca (Ortalis motmot), at as little as 38 cm (15 in) and 350 g (12 oz), to the great curassow (Crax rubra), at nearly 1 m (39 in) and 4.3 kg (9.5 lb).

Behaviour and ecology

These species feed on fruit, insects and worms. They build nests in trees, and lay two to three large white

precocial and are born with an instinct to immediately climb and seek refuge in the nesting tree. They are able to fly within days of hatching.[8]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Rafinesque, Constantine Samuel (1815). Analyse de la nature ou, Tableau de l'univers et des corps organisés (in French). Palermo: Self-published. p. 69.
  2. hdl:2246/830
    .
  3. PMID 34809586
    .
  4. Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Pheasants, partridges, francolins"
    . IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  5. ^ Haaramo, Mikko (2007). "Aves [Avialae]– basal birds". Mikko's Phylogeny Archive. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Taxonomic lists- Aves". Paleofile.com (net, info). Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  7. S2CID 87692869
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 1-85391-186-0
    .

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cracidae.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cracidae&oldid=1215284134"