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Tyranni

John Harshman
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taxon links [up-->]Cotingidae [up-->]Pipridae [up-->]Tyrannidae [up-->]Tityridae Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain[down<--]Suboscines 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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Relationships after Tello et al. (2009), Ohlson et al. (2008), Ericson et al. (2006), and others.
Containing group: Suboscines

Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships

Several clades within Tyranni are clearly established: Pipridae (manakins), Tityridae (tityras), Cotingidae (cotingas), and Tyrannidae (tyrant flycatchers). But relationships among them are contradictory in different analyses, and no resolution is strongly supported in any analysis (Barker et al. 2002, 2004; Johansson et al. 2002; Chesser 2004, Ohlson et al. 2008, Tello et al. 2009). However, the last two references, especially, have made considerable progress in consolidating these four clades (though some species have changed allegiance) and every species but one can now be placed in its proper group with confidence. That species, Calyptura cristata, remains a mystery. Until recently thought extinct, it has never been genetically sampled, and it has been linked at various times to tyrannids, tityrids, cotingids, and piprids.

The group here called Tyranni has been given various other, though similar, names by other workers, Tyrannides and Tyrannida being the commonest. The distinctions are arbitrary.

Other Names for Tyranni

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.

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

Ericson, P. G. P., D. Zuccon, J. I. Ohlson, U. S. Johansson, H. Alvarenga, and R. O. Prum. 2006. Higher level phylogeny and morphological evolution of tyrant flycatchers, cotingas, manakins and their allies (Aves: Tyrannida). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40:471–483.

Johansson, U. S., M. Irestedt, T. J. Parsons, and P. G. P. Ericson. 2002. Basal phylogeny of the Tyrannoidea based on comparisons of cytochrome b and exons of nuclear c-myc and RAG-1 genes. Auk 119:984-995.

Lanyon, S.M. 1985. Molecular perspective on higher-level relationships in the Tyrannoidea (Aves). Systematic Zoology 34:404–18.

Ohlson, J. I., R. O. Prum, and P. G. P. Ericson. 2007. A molecular phylogeny of the cotingas (Aves : Cotingidae). Molecular Phylogenetic and Evolution 42(1):25-37.

Prum, R. O. 1990. A test of the monophyly of the manakins (Pipridae) and of the cotingas (Cotingidae) based on morphology. Occasional Papers of The Museum of Zoology, The University of Michigan 723:1–44.

Ridgely, R. S. and G. Tudor. 1994. The Birds of South America. Volume 2. The Suboscine Passerines. University of Texas, Austin.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Pitangus sulphuratus
Location Puerto Aventuras, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Source Grande Kiskadi / Great kiskadee
Source Collection Flickr
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 2.0.
Copyright © 2006 Isidro Vila Verde
Scientific Name [Pipra] erythrocephala
Location captive at North Carolina Zoo
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Source Golden-headed Manakin
Source Collection Flickr
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License - Version 2.0.
Copyright © 2007 Valerie
Scientific Name Pipreola riefferii
Location Owlet Lodge, Abra Patricia, Amazonas dept., Peru
Comments Fairly common along east slope of Andes, 1700-2900m. These were quite common in the grounds of Owlet Lodge.
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Source Green-and-black Fruiteater (Pipreola riefferii)
Source Collection Flickr
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 2.0.
Copyright © 2009 David Cook Wildlife Photography
About This Page


Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to John Harshman at

Page: Tree of Life Tyranni. Authored by John Harshman. 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:

Harshman, John. 2009. Tyranni. Version 28 November 2009 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Tyranni/67994/2009.11.28 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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