Aequornithia

Common loon Gavia immer, copyright Gary Irwin.

Belongs within: Neognathae.
Contains: Procellariiformes, Spheniscidae, Ciconiidae, Sulida, Fregata, Threskiornithidae, Ardeidae, Pelecanidae.

The Aequornithia are a clade of birds united by molecular phylogenetic analysis, commonly referred to as the 'higher water-birds'. Most species are associated with aquatic habitats, from open ocean to terrestrial wetlands. Members of the clade include the Gaviiformes, divers or loons, a group of streamlined birds with the feet placed far back on the body, making them powerful swimmers but rather poor walkers.

<==Aequornithia [Natatores] JM14
    |--Gaviidae [Colymbidae, Colymboididae, Eudytidae, Gaviiformes, Gaviimorphae, Urinatoridae] KF-V15
    |    |--Gaviella pusilla (Shufeldt 1915) M09
    |    |--Neogaeornis wetzeli Lambrecht 1929 C02, M09
    |    |--Eupterornis Lemoine 1878 FP64, M02
    |    |    `--*E. remensis Lemoine 1878 M02
    |    |--Polarornis Chatterjee 2002 C02
    |    |    `--*P. gregorii Chatterjee 2002 C02
    |    |--Colymboides Milne-Edwards 1867 (see below for synonymy) M02
    |    |    |--*C. minutus Milne-Edwards 1867 [incl. *Hydrornis natator Milne-Edwards 1867, *Dyspetornis natator] M02
    |    |    |--C. anglicus Lydekker 1891 M05
    |    |    |--C. belgicus Mayr & Smith 2002 M09
    |    |    `--C. metzleri Mayr 2004 M05
    |    `--Gavia Forster 1788 M02 (see below for synonymy)
    |         |  i. s.: ‘Colymbus’ capensis K08
    |         |         G. concinna M02
    |         |         ‘Colymbus’ dominicus S18
    |         |           |--C. d. dominicus S18
    |         |           `--C. d. brachyrhynchus S18
    |         |         G. egeriana Švec 1982 M02
    |         |         G. moldavica Kessler 1984 M02
    |         |         G. paradoxa Umans’ka 1981 M02
    |         |         G. portisi (Regàlia 1902) [=Colymbus portisi] M02
    |         |         G. schultzi Mlíkovský 1998 M02
    |         |--G. stellata (Pontoppidan 1763) JT12, CS77 [=Colymbus stellatus CS77]
    |         `--+--G. arctica (Linnaeus 1758) JT12, CS77 [=Colymbus arcticus CS77]
    |            |    |--G. a. arctica CS77
    |            |    `--G. a. viridigularis Dwight 1918 CS77
    |            `--+--G. pacifica (Lawrence 1858) JT12, CS77 [=G. arctica pacifica CS77]
    |               `--+--*G. immer (Brünnich 1764) B94, JT12, B94 [=*Colymbus immer B94]
    |                  `--G. adamsii (Gray 1859) JT12, CS77 [=Colymbus adamsii CS77]
    `--+--Procellariimorphae JM14
       |    |--Procellariiformes JM14
       |    `--+--Spheniscidae JM14
       |       `--Plotopteridae M04
       |            |  i. s.: Hokkaidornis abashiriensis Sakurai et al. 2008 M09
       |            |--Phocavis maritimus Goedert 1988 M09
       |            `--+--Tonsala hildegardae Olson 1980 M09
       |               `--Copepteryx Olson & Hasegawa 1996 M09, D07
       |                    |--C. hexeris Olson & Hasegawa 1996 M09
       |                    `--C. titan Olson & Hasegawa 1996 M09
       `--Pelecanimorphae [Herodiones, Pelargi, Pelecanides, Steganograllatores, Steganopodes] PB15
            |  i. s.: Novacaesareala hungerfordi Parris & Hope 2002 M09
            |         Torotigidae FP64
            |           |--Gallornis straeleni Lambrecht 1931 FP64, OF80
            |           `--Torotix Brodkorb 1963 OF80
            |                `--*T. clemensi Brodkorb 1963 OF80
            |--Ciconiidae JT12
            `--+--Suliformes JT12
               |    |--Sulida JM14
               |    `--Fregatidae M09
               |         |--Fregata JT12
               |         `--Limnofregata M09
               |              |--L. azygosternon Olson 1977 M09
               |              `--L. hasegawai Olson & Matsuoka 2005 M09
               `--Pelecaniformes KF-V21
                    |--Threskiornithidae JM14
                    `--+--Ardeiformes U93
                       |   |--Ardeidae JM14
                       |   `--Xenerodiops [Xenerodiopidae] U93
                       |        `--X. mycter Rasmussen et al. 1987 M09
                       `--+--Pelecanidae KF-V21
                          `--+--Scopus Brisson 1760 KF-V21, B94 [Scopi, Scopidae, Scopoidea]
                             |    |--S. umbretta JT12
                             |    `--S. xenopus Olson 1984 B93
                             `--Balaenicipitidae [Balaenicipites, Balaenicipitiformes] KF-V21
                                  |--Goliathia andrewsi Lambrecht 1930 M09
                                  `--Balaeniceps Gould 1850 PB15, B94
                                       `--B. rex JT12

Colymboides Milne-Edwards 1867 [incl. Dyspetornis Oberholser 1905, Hydrornis Milne-Edwards 1867 non Blyth 1843] M02

Gavia Forster 1788 M02 [=Colymbus Linnaeus 1758 (nom. rej.) B94; incl. Eudytes Illiger 1811 B94, Mergus Brisson 1860 non Linnaeus 1758 B94, Urinator Lacépède 1799 B94]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

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

[B93] Brooke, R. K. 1993. Annotated catalogue of the Aves type specimens in the South African Museum. Annals of the South African Museum 102 (10): 327–349.

[C02] Chatterjee, S. 2002. The morphology and systematics of Polarornis, a Cretaceous loon (Aves: Gaviidae) from Antarctica. In: Zhou, Z., & F. Zhang (eds) Proceedings of the 5^th Symposium of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution. Beijing, 1–4 June 2000 pp. 125–155. Science Press: Beijing.

[CS77] Cramp, S., & K. E. L. Simmons (eds) 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palaearctic vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

[D07] Dixon, D. 2007. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. Hermes House: London.

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

[JM14] Jarvis, E. D., S. Mirarab, A. J. Aberer, B. Li, P. Houde, C. Li, S. Y. W. Ho, B. C. Faircloth, B. Nabholz, J. T. Howard, A. Suh, C. C. Weber, R. R. de Fonseca, J. Li, F. Zhang, H. Li, L. Zhou, N. Narula, L. Liu, G. Ganapathy, B. Boussau, M. S. Bayzid, V. Zavidovych, S. Subramanian, T. Gabaldón, S. Capella-Gutiérrez, J. Huerta-Cepas, B. Rekepalli, K. Munch, M. Schierup, B. Lindow, W. C. Warren, D. Ray, R. E. Green, M. W. Bruford, X. Zhan, A. Dixon, S. Li, N. Li, Y. Huang, E. P. Derryberry, M. F. Bertelsen, F. H. Sheldon, R. T. Brumfield, C. V. Mello, P. V. Lovell, M. Wirthlin, M. P. Cruz Schneider, F. Prosdocimi, J. A. Samaniego, A. M. Vargas Velazquez, A. Alfaro-Núñez, P. F. Campos, B. Petersen, T. Sitcheritz-Ponten, A. Pas, T. Bailey, P. Scofield, M. Bunce, D. M. Lambert, Q. Zhou, P. Perelman, A. C. Driskell, B. Shapiro, Z. Xiong, Y. Zeng, S. Liu, Z. Li, B. Liu, K. Wu, J. Xiao, X. Yinqi, Q. Zheng, Y. Zhang, H. Yang, J. Wang, L. Smeds, F. E. Rheindt, M. Braun, J. Fjeldså, L. Orlando, F. K. Barker, K. A. Jønsson, W. Johnson, K.-P. Koepfli, S. O'Brien, D. Haussler, O. A. Ryder, C. Rahbek, E. Willerslev, G. R. Graves, T. C. Glenn, J. McCormack, D. Burt, H. Ellegren, P. Alström, S. V. Edwards, A. Stamatakis, D. P. Mindell, J. Cracraft, E. L. Braun, T. Warnow, W. Jun, M. T. P. Gilbert & G. Zhang. 2014. Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds. Science 346 (6215): 1320–1331.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[L08] Kellogg, V. L. 1908. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Zoologischen Expedition nach dem Kilimandjaro, dem Meru und den Umgebenden Massaisteppen Deutsch-Ostafrikas 1905–1906 vol. 15. Corrodentia pt 4. Mallophaga. Almqvist & Wiksells Boktryckeri-A. B.: Uppsala.

[KF-V21] Kuhl, H., C. Frankl-Vilches, A. Bakker, G. Mayr, G. Nikolaus, S. T. Boerno, S. Klages, B. Timmermann & M. Gahr. 2021. An unbiased molecular approach using 3′-UTRs resolves the avian family-level tree of life. Molecular Biology and Evolution 38 (1): 108–127.

[M04] Mayr, G. 2004. Tertiary plotopterids (Aves, Plotopteridae) and a novel hypothesis on the phylogenetic relationships of penguins (Spheniscidae). Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 43: 61–71.

[M05] Mayr, G. 2005. The Paleogene fossil record of birds in Europe. Biological Reviews 80: 515–542.

[M09] Mayr, G. 2009. Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer.

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

[OF80] Olson, S. L., & A. Feduccia. 1980. Relationships and evolution of flamingos (Aves: Phoenicopteridae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 316: 1–73.

[PB15] Prum, R. O., J. S. Berv, A. Dornburg, D. J. Field, J. P. Townsend, E. M. Lemmon & A. R. Lemmon. 2015. A comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation DNA sequencing. Nature 526: 569–573.

[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.

[U93] Unwin, D. M. 1993. Aves. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 717–737. Chapman & Hall: London.