Mesite
| Mesites | |
|---|---|
| |
| Subdesert mesite (Monias benschi) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Columbimorphae |
| Order: | Mesitornithiformes Wetmore, 1960 |
| Family: | Mesitornithidae Wetmore, 1960 |
| Genera | |
|
Mesitornis | |
| |
| Respective ranges: brown mesite in orange, white-breasted mesite in green and subdesert mesite in blue | |
The mesites (Mesitornithidae) are a
Pterocliformes.[1] They are smallish flightless or near flightless birds endemic to Madagascar. They are the only family with more than two species in which every species is threatened (all three are listed as vulnerable).[vague][clarification needed
]
Description
The mesites are forest and scrubland birds that feed on insects and seeds; brown and white-breasted mesites forage on the ground, gleaning insects from underneath leaves as well as low vegetation. The subdesert mesite uses its long bill to probe in the soil. Other birds, such as
sexual dichromatism
.
Systematics
There are two genera, Mesitornis (2 species) and Monias (subdesert mesite).[4][5]
| Image | Genus | Species |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Monias Oustalet & Grandidier, 1903
|
|
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|
Mesitornis Bonaparte, 1855 [Mesites Geoffroy, 1838 non Schoenherr, 1838; Mesoenas Reichenbach, 1861] |
|
Historically, mesites' phylogenetic relationships were not very clear; they have been allied with the
Columbiformes.[8]
Recent phylogenomic studies support
Cuculiformes (cuckoos).[11]
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Phylogenetic relationship of the mesites within Neoaves.[11] |
References
- ^ PMID 25504713.
- ISBN 978-1-85391-186-6.
- S2CID 17145658.
- IOC World Bird List v6.3 [1]. "IOC Names File Plus 6.3". Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ "Part 7- Vertebrates". Collection of genus-group names in a systematic arrangement. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ISBN 0-300-04085-7.
- PMID 18784798.
- S2CID 6472805.
- S2CID 1296408.
- PMID 24832669.
- ^ a b H Kuhl, C Frankl-Vilches, A Bakker, G Mayr, G Nikolaus, S T Boerno, S Klages, B Timmermann, M Gahr (2020) An unbiased molecular approach using 3’UTRs resolves the avian family-level tree of life. Molecular Biology and Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa191
