Otididae

Great bustards Otis tarda, photographed by Muchaxo.

Belongs within: Neoaves.

The Otididae are the bustards, large birds of open country in Eurasia, Africa and Australia. Males of many bustard species are known for their elaborate mating displays.

Synapomorphies (from Livezey 1998): Maxilla dorsoventrally compressed, lateromedially broad; free caudal vertebrae with laterally elongate transverse process; processus craniolateralis of corpus sterni with caudal deflection present; apex and margo ventralis of carina sterni typically laterally thickened relative to more dorsal parts of carina; extremitas omalis coracoidei, facies dorsalis immediately caudal to processus acrocoracoideus with foramina pneumatica present; extremitas proximalis carpometacarpi, os metacarpale alulare with processus extensorius prominent, typically rugose, dorsoventrally thickened into spur; extremitas proximalis carpometacarpi, os metacarpale minus, dorsoventral depth at synostosis proximalis narrowed, reduced dorsally, approximately half that of os metacarpale majus; extremitas distalis carpometacarpi, facies articularis digitalis major distally prominent; extremitas proximalis femoris, trochanter femoris, crista trochanteris, facies craniomedialis with great proximal elongation and foramen pneumaticum present; extremitas distalis tibiotarsi, incisura intercondylaris, area intercondylaris extending medially, especially deep immediately proximal to condylus medialis; plumage with dark bilateral throat stripes present.

<==Otididae [Otidae, Otides, Otidides]
    |--*Tetrax tetrax FP64
    |--Houbaropsis bengalensis BTT02
    |--Ardeotis australis AD02, ZJM03
    |--Lissotis Reichenbach 1848 [Lissotididae] B94
    |    `--L. melanogaster (Rüppell 1835) [=Otis melanogaster] S05
    |--Gryzaja Zubareva 1939 [Gryzajidae] M02
    |    `--*G. odessana Zubareva 1939 (see below for synonymy) M02
    |--Miootis Umans’ka 1979 M02
    |    `--*M. compactus Umans’ka 1979 M02
    |--Neotis Sharpe 1893 [Neotididae] B94
    |    |--N. denhami FP64
    |    `--N. ludwigii (Rüppell 1837) [=Otis ludwigii] S04
    |--Afrotis atra (Linnaeus 1766) ME04
    |    |--A. a. atra RN72
    |    `--A. a. afraoides RN72
    |--Choriotis HK08
    |    |--C. arabs FP64
    |    |--C. kori [=Ardeotis kori] HK08
    |    `--C. nigriceps FP64
    |--Chlamydotis Lesson 1839 M02
    |    |--C. mesetaria Sánchez Marco 1990 M02
    |    `--C. undulata (Jacquin 1784) (see below for synonymy) M02
    |         |--C. u. undulata AD02
    |         `--C. u. macqueenii AD02
    |--Eupodotis AD02
    |    |--E. afra L98
    |    |--E. australis BR65
    |    |--E. rueppellii FP64
    |    `--E. ruficrista AD02
    `--Otis Linnaeus 1758 M02
         |--O. affinis Lydekker 1891 [=Chlamydotis affinis] M02
         |--O. australis SJ85
         |--O. bessarabensis Kessler & Gál 1996 M02
         |--O. tarda Linnaeus 1758 [incl. O. brevipes Giebel 1847, O. lambrechti Kretzoi 1941] M02
         |    |--O. t. tarda I92
         |    `--O. t. dybowskii Taczanowski 1874 I92
         `--O. tetrax Linnaeus 1758 (see below for synonymy) M02

Nomen nudum: Otis agilis Milne-Edwards 1871 M02

Chlamydotis undulata (Jacquin 1784) [=Otis undulata; incl. O. khosatzkii beremendensis Jánossy 1991, O. khosatzkii Bocheński & Kuročkin 1987] M02

*Gryzaja odessana Zubareva 1939 [=Otis gryzaja Vojinstvens’kyj 1967; incl. Chlamydotis pliodeserti Serebrovs’kyj 1941] M02

Otis tetrax Linnaeus 1758 [incl. O. (Tetrax) kalmani Jánossy 1972, O. paratetrax Bocheński & Kuročkin 1987] M02

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[AD02] Anderson, S. J., & D. C. Deeming. 2002. Dimensions and composition of eggs from captive bustards (Gruiformes: Otididae): Houbara (Chlamydotis undulata), rufous-crested (Eupodotis ruficrista), and kori (Ardeotis kori). Zoo Biology 21: 337-346.

[BTT02] Baral, N., B. Tamang & N. Timilsina. 2002. Status of Bengal florican Houbaropsis bengalensis in Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 99 (3): 413-417.

[BR65] Black, J. M., & E. L. Robertson. 1965. Flora of South Australia. Part IV. Oleaceae-Compositae. W. L. Hawes, Government Printer: Adelaide.

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1-281.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[HK08] Hackett, S. J., R. T. Kimball, S. Reddy, R. C. K. Bowie, E. L. Braun, M. J. Braun, J. L. Chojnowski, W. A. Cox, K.-L. Han, J. Harshman, C. J. Huddleston, B. D. Marks, K. J. Miglia, W. S. Moore, F. H. Sheldon, D. W. Steadman, C. C. Witt & T. Yuri. 2008. A phylogenomic study of birds reveals their evolutionary history. Science 320: 1763-1768.

[I92] Iwahashi, J. (ed.) 1992. Reddo Deeta Animaruzu: a pictorial of Japanese fauna facing extinction. JICC: Tokyo.

[L98] Livezey, B. C. 1998. A phylogenetic analysis of the Gruiformes (Aves) based on morphological characters, with an emphasis on the rails (Rallidae). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B – Biological Sciences 353: 2077-2151.

[ME04] Mayr, G., & P. G. P. Ericson. 2004. Evidence for a sister group relationship between the Madagascan mesites (Mesitornithidae) and the cuckoos (Cuculidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 84 (1-2): 1-17.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[RN72] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds.) 1972. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 2. Blandford Press: London.

[S05] Steinheimer, F. D. 2005. Eduard Rüppel’s avian types at the Natural History Museum, Tring (Aves). Senckenbergiana Biologica 85 (2): 233-264.

[SJ85] Storr, G. M., & R. E. Johnstone. 1985. Field Guide to the Birds of Western Australia 2^nd ed. Western Australian Museum: Perth (Australia).

[ZJM03] Zeffer, A., L. C. Johansson & Å. Marmebro. 2003. Functional correlation between habitat use and leg morphology in birds (Aves). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 79: 461-484.