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Phasianidae

Chickens, Grouse, Partridges, Quail, Pheasants, etc.

Julia Gulka and David P. Mindell
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taxon links [up-->]Bambusicola [up-->]Meleagris [up-->]Argusianus argus [up-->]Pternistis [up-->]Galloperdix [up-->]Phasianus [up-->]Tragopan [up-->]Rhizothera [up-->]Pavo [up-->]Perdicula [up-->]Tympanuchus [up-->]Peliperdix [up-->]Alectoris [up-->]Tetrao [up-->]Excalfactoria [up-->]Tetraogallus [up-->]Scleroptila [up-->]Coturnix [up-->]Arborophila [up-->]Lophophorus [up-->]Ptilopachus [up-->]Chrysolophus [up-->]Bonasa umbellus [up-->]Lagopus [up-->]Syrmaticus [up-->]Catreus wallichi [up-->]Crossoptilon [up-->]Lerwa lerwa [up-->]Polyplectron [up-->]Afropavo congensis [up-->]Francolinus [up-->]Lyrurus [up-->]Tetraophasis [up-->]Rollulus rouloul [up-->]Lophura [up-->]Perdix [up-->]Tetrastes [up-->]Dendragapus [up-->]Centrocercus [up-->]Gallus [up-->]Falcipennis [up-->]Ammoperdix [up-->]Dendroperdix sephaena [up-->]Pucrasia macrolopha Monophyly UncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertain and monophyly of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertain and monophyly of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertain and monophyly of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertain and monophyly of group is uncertain[down<--]Galliformes Interpreting the tree
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This tree diagram shows the relationships between several groups of organisms.

The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.

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You can click on the root to travel down the Tree of Life all the way to the root of all Life, and you can click on the names of descendent subgroups to travel up the Tree of Life all the way to individual species.

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The above topology was built based on a supermatrix analysis by Kimball et al. 2011, as it is the most recent tree available. See Eo et al. 2009 for a slightly more inclusive topology based on a supertree analysis.
Containing group: Galliformes

Other Names for Phasianidae

References

Bush KL, Strobeck C. 2003. Phylogenetic relationships of the phasianidae reveals possible non-pheasant taxa. J. Hered. 94:472-89.

Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CISRO Publishing, Collingwood, VIC, Australia.

Crowe, T.M., Bowie, R.C.K., Bloomer, P., Mandiwana, T.G., Hedderson, T.A.J., Randi, E., Pereira, S.L. and Wakeling, J. 2006. Phylogenetics, biogeography and classification of, and characteristic evolution in, gamesbirds (Aves:Galliformes):effects of character exclusio, data partitioning and missing data. Cladistics 22: 495-532.

Delacour, J. 1977. The pheasants of the world. Second edition. Spur Publications and World Pheasant Association, Reading, UK.

Dimcheff, D. E., S. V. Drovetski, M. Krishnan, and D. P. Mindell. 2000. Cospeciation and horizontal transmission of avian sarcoma and leukosis virus gag genes in galliform birds. J. Virology 74:3984-3995.

Dimcheff, D. D., S. V. Drovetski, and D. P. Mindell. 2002. Molecular evolution and systematics of Tetraoninae and other Galliformes using mitochondrial 12S and ND2 genes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 24: 203-215.

Drovetski, S.V. 2002. Molecular Phylogeny of Grouse: The performance of W-linked, autosomal, and mitochondrial loci, Syst. Biol. 51:930–945.

Ellsworth, D. L., R. L. Honeycutt, and N. J. Silvy. (1996). Systematics of grouse and ptarmigan determined by nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome-B gene. The Auk, 113:811-822.

Eo, S. H., O. R. P. Binidia-Emonds, and J. P. Carroll. 2009. A phylogenetic supertree of the fouls (Galloansarae, Aves). Zoologica Scripta 38: 465-481.

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

Gutierrez, R.J., Barrowclough, G.F., and Groth, J.G. 2000. A classification of the grouse (Aves: Tetraoninae) based on mitochodrial DNA sequences. Wildlife Biol. 6:205–211.

Kimball, R. T., C. M. St. Mary, and E. L. Braun. 2011. A macroevolutionary perspective on multiple sexual traits in the Phasianidae (Galliformes). International Journal of Evolutionary Biology 2011.

Madge, S., N. Arlott, and P. J. K. McGowan. 2000. Pheasants, Partidges, Grouse and Sandgrouse. London: Christopher Helm.

McGowan, P.J.K. 1994. Phasianidae (Pheasants and Partridges). Pages 434-552 in Handbook of the Birds of the World. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Sargatal, J., eds. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Title Illustrations
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Location Portugal
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Source Perdiz-vermelha - Alectoris rufa
Source Collection Flickr
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License - Version 2.0.
Copyright © 2006 Julio Caldas
Scientific Name Phasianus colchicus
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Sex Male
Source The Famous...
Source Collection Flickr
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License - Version 2.0.
Copyright © 2006 Ewan
Scientific Name Meleagris ocellata
Location Tikal, Guatemala
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Source Oscellated turkey
Source Collection Flickr
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 2.0.
Copyright © 2007 Brian Gratwicke
About This Page


Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont, USA

David P. Mindell
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Julia Gulka at and David P. Mindell at

Page: Tree of Life Phasianidae. Chickens, Grouse, Partridges, Quail, Pheasants, etc.. Authored by Julia Gulka and David P. Mindell. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Gulka, Julia and David P. Mindell. 2011. Phasianidae. Chickens, Grouse, Partridges, Quail, Pheasants, etc.. Version 23 July 2011 (temporary). http://tolweb.org/Phasianidae/26302/2011.07.23 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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Each ToL branch page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a branch of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a branch and a leaf of the Tree of Life is that each branch can be further subdivided into descendent branches, that is, subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

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