Eurylaimides

Relationships after Moyle et al. (2006) and Irestedt et al. (2006).

Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships

The Old World suboscines are a small group with only 50 species, in contrast to the New World suboscines with over a thousand. The Old World suboscines are only slightly misnamed, as they have a single New World member, Sapayoa aenigma (Fjeldså et al. 2003, Chesser 2004). Eurylaimidae (broadbills) is clearly not monophyletic, but just how paraphyletic is not yet clear. The traditional family Philepittidae (asities) is clearly included within it (Prum 1993; Irestedt et al. 2001; Barker et al. 2002, 2004; Beresford et al. 2005); this is why it's shown in quotes, since a family can't be nested inside another family. Either Eurylaimidae must be split or Philepittidae eliminated. Sapayoa probably is also included within Eurylaimidae. It is not completely clear that the two genera Calyptomena and Smithornis are within the family; it's conceivable that they are either more closely related to Pittidae or that they are the sister group of both Eurylaimidae and Pittidae (Irestedt et al. 2006, Moyle et al. 2006). Irestedt et al. (2006), looking at the same tree shown here, proposed splitting Eurylaimidae into four families: Eurylaimidae, Philepittidae, Sapayoidae (to include Sapayoa), and Calyptomenidae (to include Calyptomena and Smithornis); which classification to adopt is a matter of personal taste.

The genus Sarcophanops is sometimes submerged within Eurylaimus, but this would also require suppressing the two monotypic genera Serilophus and Cymbirhynchus (Irestedt et al. 2006), and so Sarcophanops is retained here.

Other Names for Eurylaimides

• Old World Suboscines

References

Barker, F. K., G. F. Barrowclough, and J. G. Groth. 2002. A phylogenetic hypothesis for passerine birds; Taxonomic and biogeographic implications of an analysis of nuclear DNA sequence data. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 269:295-308.

Barker, F. K., A. Cibois, P. Schikler, J. Feinstein, and J. Cracraft. 2004. Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101:11040-11045.

Beresford, P., F. K. Barker, P. G. Ryan, and T. M. Crowe. 2005. African endemics span the tree of songbirds (Passeri): Molecular systematics of several evolutionary "enigmas". Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 272:849-858.

Bruce M.D. 2003. Family Eurylaimidae (Broadbills). Pages 54–93 in Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 8: Broadbills to Tapaculos. J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, eds. BirdLife International and Lynx Editions, Cambridge, UK and Barcelona.

Chesser, R. T. 2004. Molecular systematics of New World suboscine birds. Mol. Phylogen. Evol. 32:11-24.

Dekker, R. W. R. J. and E. C. Dickinson. 2000. Systematic notes on the Asian birds 2. A preliminary review of the Eurylaimidae. Zoologische Verhandelingen Leiden 331:65–76.

Fjeldså, J., D. Zuccon, M. Irestedt, U. S. Johansson, and P. G. P. Ericson. 2003. Sapayoa aenigma: A New World representative of "Old World suboscines". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B (Supplement) 270:S238-S241.

Gill, F. and M. Wright. 2006. Birds of the World: Recommended English Names. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.

Harshman, J. 2007. Classification and phylogeny of birds. Pages 1-35 in Reproductive biology and phylogeny of birds (B. G. M. Jamieson, ed.). Science Publishers, Inc., Enfield, NH.

Irestedt, M., U. S. Johansson, T. J. Parsons, and P. G. P. Ericson. 2001. Phylogeny of major lineages of suboscines (Passeriformes) analysed by nuclear DNA sequence data. J. Avian Biol. 32:15-25.

Irestedt, M., J. I. Ohlson, D. Zuccon, M. Källersjö, and P. G. P. Ericson. 2006. Nuclear DNA from old collections of avian study skins reveals the evolutionary history of the Old World suboscines (Aves, Passeriformes). Zoologica Scripta 35:567–580.

Lambert, F. and M. Woodcock. 1996. Pittas, Broadbills and Asities. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, Sussex.

Moyle, R.G., R.T. Chesser, R.O. Prum, P. Schikler, and J. Cracraft. 2006. Phylogeny and evolutionary history of Old World suboscine birds (Aves: Eurylaimides). American Museum Novitates 3544:1-22.

Prum, R. O. 1993. Phylogeny, biogeography, and evolution of the broadbills (Eurylaimidae) and asities (Philepittidae) based on morphology. Auk 110:304-324.

Raikow, R.J. 1987. Hindlimb myology and evolution of the Old World suboscine passerine birds (Acanthisittidae, Pittidae, Philepittidae, Eurylaimidae). Ornithol. Monogr. 41:1–81.