Mirandornithes

Australasian crested grebe Podiceps cristatus australis, copyright Bernard Spragg.

Belongs within: Neognathae.

The Mirandornithes are a clade of birds supported by molecular data, uniting two distinct subgroups, the Podicipedidae and Phoenicopteriformes. The Podicipedidae, grebes and dabchicks, are specialised aquatic birds found on freshwater lakes and ponds. Grebes have large feet set well back on the body with lobed toes, tails reduced to a vestigial tuft, and small narrow wings. Grebe nests are floating platforms made from pieces of vegetation and anchored to reeds in shallow water; both sexes participate in the construction of the nest and the rearing of the chicks. Courtship displays are often complex, comprising mutual or complementary movements by both partners.

The Phoenicopteriformes include the flamingos (Phoenicopteridae) and their fossil relatives. Flamingos have exceedingly long necks and legs, a distinctively-shaped down-curved bill, and front toes joined by full webs while the hind toe is elevated or absent. They feed on brine shrimp and other micro-organisms filtered from water with pigments from their diet giving them a distinctive reddish coloration. The majority of flamingo species are found in the Neotropical region with the greater flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus and lesser flamingo P. minor found in the Old World. A number of fossil taxa have historically also been included in the Phoenicopteriformes but their positions are uncertain.

<==Mirandornithes [Phoenicopterimorphae] KF-V21
    |--Phoenicopteriformes [Odontoglossae, Phoenicopteri] PB15
    |    |--Phoeniconotius Miller 1963 M09, OF80
    |    |    `--P. eyrensis Miller 1963 M09
    |    |--Scaniornithidae W51
    |    |    |--Scaniornis Dames 1890 M02
    |    |    |    `--*S. lundgreni Dames 1890 M02
    |    |    `--Parascaniornis stensioi Lambrecht 1933 W51, OF80
    |    |--Agnopterus Milne-Edwards 1868 M09, M02 (see below for synonymy)
    |    |    |--*A. laurillardi Milne-Edwards 1868 Ml02
    |    |    |--A. hantoniensis Lydekker 1891 M09 (see below for synonymy)
    |    |    |--A. sicki Alvarenga 1990 M09
    |    |    `--A. turgaiensis Tugarinov 1940 [incl. Cygnopterus lambrechti Kuročkin 1968] M02
    |    `--Phoenicopteridae BKB15
    |         |--Kashinia Harrison & Walker 1979 [=Tenuicrus Harrison & Walker 1976 non Womersley 1940] M02
    |         |    `--*K. magna (Harrison & Walker 1976) [=*Tenuicrus magnum] M02
    |         |--Harrisonavis Kašin 1978 (see below for synonymy) M02
    |         |    `--*H. croizeti (Gervais 1852) M02, M09 [=Phoenicopterus croizeti M09, *Gervaisia croiseti (l. c.) M02]
    |         |--Elornis Milne-Edwards 1868 M05, M02 [=Helornis Lydekker 1891 M02]
    |         |    |--*E. littoralis Milne-Edwards 1867 M02, M09 (see below for synonymy)
    |         |    |--E. anglicus Lydekker 1891 [=Helornis anglicus] M02
    |         |    `--E. grandis Milne-Edwards 1869 M02
    |         |--Tiliornis senex Ameghino 1899 OF80
    |         `--Phoenicopterus Linnaeus 1758 M02
    |              |  i. s.: P. antiquorum VS14
    |              |         P. floridanus FP64
    |              |         P. novaehollandiae Miller 1963 M09
    |              |--+--*P. ruber Linnaeus 1758 L58, BKB15, CS77
    |              |  `--+--P. andinus CS77 [=Phoenicoparrus andinus BKB15]
    |              |     `--P. jamesi CS77 [=Phoenicoparrus jamesi BKB15]
    |              `--+--P. minor Geoffroy 1798 BKB15, CS77 [=Phoeniconaias minor CS77]
    |                 `--+--P. chilensis Molina 1782 BKB15, CS77 [=P. ruber chilensis RN72]
    |                    `--P. roseus Pallas 1811 JT12, CS77 [=P. ruber roseus CS77]
    `--Podicipedidae (see below for synonymy) JM14
         |  i. s.: Poliocephalus Selby 1840 CC10
         |           |--*P. poliocephalus (Jardine & Selby 1827) (see below for synonymy) CC10
         |           `--P. rufopectus (Gray in Dieffenbach 1843) (see below for synonymy) CC10
         |         Miobaptus Švec 1982 M02
         |           `--*M. walteri Švec 1982 M02, JM14, M02 [=Podiceps walteri M02]
         |--Podilymbus Lesson 1831 BKB15, B94 [Podilymbidae]
         |    |--P. gigas HSS13 [=P. podiceps gigas FP64]
         |    `--P. podiceps (Linnaeus 1758) [=Colymbus podiceps] CS77
         |         |--P. p. podiceps CS77
         |         |--P. p. antarcticus (Lesson 1842) CS77
         |         `--P. p. antillarum Bangs 1913 CS77
         `--+--Tachybaptus Reichenbach 1849 BKB15, CC10
            |    |  i. s.: T. pelzelnii (Hartlaub 1861) CC10
            |    |         T. rufolavatus (Delacour 1932) CC10
            |    |--T. dominicus BKB15
            |    `--+--T. novaehollandiae (Stephens in Shaw 1826) JT12, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
            |       `--T. ruficollis (Pallas 1764) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
            |            |--T. r. ruficollis CS77
            |            |--T. r. capensis (Salvadori 1884) CS77
            |            |--T. r. iraquensis (Ticehurst 1923) CS77
            |            `--T. r. poggei VP89
            `--+--Aechmophorus BKB15
               |    |--A. clarki BKB15
               |    `--A. occidentalis BKB15
               `--Podiceps Latham 1787 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                    |  i. s.: P. miocenicus Kessler 1984 M02
                    |         P. occipitalis JT12
                    |         P. oligocaenus FP64
                    |         P. rufolavatus FP64
                    |         P. sociatus (Navás 1922) [=*Thiornis sociatus] M02
                    |         P. taczanowskii JT12
                    |--+--P. andinus CS77
                    |  |--P. gallardoi BKB15
                    |  `--P. nigricollis Brehm 1831 BKB15, M02 (see below for synonymy)
                    |       |--P. n. nigricollis CS77
                    |       |--P. n. californicus Heermann 1854 CS77
                    |       `--P. n. gurneyi (Roberts 1919) CS77
                    `--+--Rollandia BKB15
                       |    |--R. microptera JT12 [=Podiceps micropterus FP64]
                       |    `--R. rolland BKB15
                       `--+--+--*P. cristatus (Linnaeus 1758) CC10, BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                          |  |    |--P. c. cristatus CC10
                          |  |    |--P. c. australis Gould 1844 (see below for synonymy) CC10
                          |  |    `--P. c. infuscatus Salvadori 1884 CC10
                          |  `--P. major (Boddaert 1783) BKB15, CS77
                          `--+--P. auritus (Linnaeus 1758) BKB15, M02 (see below for synonymy)
                             `--P. grisegena (Boddaert 1783) BKB15, M02 [=Colymbus grisegena M02]
                                  |--P. g. grisegena CS77
                                  `--P. g. holboellii Reinhardt 1854 [incl. P. grisegena balchasensis] CS77

Inorganic: Padiceps ruficollis minilorientalis Okamura 1987 O87

Agnopterus Milne-Edwards 1868 M09, M02 [incl. Gigantibis Harrison & Walker 1976 M02, Headonornis Harrison & Walker 1976 M05; Agnopteridae]

Agnopterus hantoniensis Lydekker 1891 M09 [=*Headonornis hantoniensis M02, Presbyornis hantoniensis M02; incl. *Gigantibis incognita Harrison & Walker 1976 M02, M09]

*Elornis littoralis Milne-Edwards 1867 M02, M09 [=*Helornis littoralis M02; incl. E. antiquus Aymard 1856 (nom. inv.) M02]

Harrisonavis Kašin 1978 [=Gervaisia Harrison & Walker 1976 nec Bonaparte 1854 nec Waga 1858 nec Robineau-Desvoidy 1863] M02

Podiceps Latham 1787 BKB15, CC10 [=Lophaethyia Agassiz 1846 CC10, Lophaithyia Kaup 1829 CC10, Podicipes Oken 1839 CC10; incl. Thiornis Navás 1922 M02]

Podiceps auritus (Linnaeus 1758) BKB15, M02 [=Colymbus auritus M02; incl. Podiceps arcticus Boie 1822 CS77, Podiceps cornutus (Gmelin 1788) CS77, Fulica pisana Portis 1889 M02, Podicipes pisanus M02]

*Podiceps cristatus (Linnaeus 1758) CC10, BKB15, CC10 [=Colymbus cristatus CC10, *Lophaethyia cristata CC10, Lophaethyria (l. c.) cristata CC10, *Lophaithyia cristata CC10, Podicipes cristatus HD09]

Podiceps cristatus australis Gould 1844 [incl. P. cristatus christiani Mathews 1911, P. hectori Buller 1865] CC10

Podiceps nigricollis Brehm 1831 BKB15, M02 [=Proctopus nigricollis M01; incl. Colymbus caspicus Hablizl 1783 (nom. rej.) CS77, Podiceps caspicus CS77]

Podicipedidae [Colymbiformes, Podicepinae, Podicepsinae, Podicipediformes, Podicipinae, Podicipitidae, Podicipitiformes] JM14

*Poliocephalus poliocephalus (Jardine & Selby 1827) [=Podiceps poliocephalus; incl. Pod. poliocephalus cloatesi Mathews 1912, Pod. nestor Gould 1837] CC10

Poliocephalus rufopectus (Gray in Dieffenbach 1843) [=Podiceps (Poliocephelus [l. c.]) rufopectus, Podiceps rufipectus, Podicipes rufipectus; incl. Fulica novaezelandiae Colenso 1844, F. novazealandiae] CC10

Tachybaptus novaehollandiae (Stephens in Shaw 1826) JT12, CC10 [=Podiceps novaehollandiae CC10; incl. P. fluviatilis carterae Mathews 1912 CC10, P. gularis Gould 1837 CC10, P. fluviatilis parryi Mathews 1912 CC10]

Tachybaptus ruficollis (Pallas 1764) BKB15, CC10 [=Colymbus ruficollis M02, Podiceps ruficollis M02; incl. C. minor CC10, *Tachybaptus minor CC10]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

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