Megalaimidae

Megalaimidae, the Asian barbets, are a family of birds, comprising two genera with 35 species native to the forests of the Indomalayan realm from Tibet to Indonesia. They were once clubbed with all barbets in the family Capitonidae but the Old World species have been found to be distinctive and are considered, along with the Lybiidae and Ramphastidae, as sister groups.

Megalaimidae Temporal range: Pleistocene to Recent
Blue-throated barbet, Meghalaya, India
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Suborder:	Pici
Infraorder:	Ramphastides
Family:	Megalaimidae Blyth, 1852
Genera
Psilopogon Caloramphus

Taxonomy

In the past the species were placed in three genera, Caloramphus, Megalaima and Psilopogon,^[1] but studies show that Psilopogon to be nested within the clade of Megalaima. Since members of this clade are better treated under a single genus, they have been moved to the genus Psilopogon which was described and erected earlier than Megalaima and is therefore chosen on the basis of taxonomic priority principles. Nearly all members of the family are now in the genus Psilopogon, with the exception of those in Caloramphus, which are thought to have genetically diverged from the common ancestor around 21.32 million years ago. The latter species are distinct enough to warrant placement in a subfamily Caloramphinae.^[2][3] The family name is derived from that of the genus Megalaima which means ‘large throat’, from the Greek mega (μέγας, ‘large, great’) and laimos (λαιμός, ‘throat’).^[4]

The phylogenetic relationship between the Asian barbets and the eight other families in the order Piciformes is shown in the cladogram below.^[5][6] The number of species in each family is taken from the list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela C. Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC).^[7]

Piciformes	Galbulidae – jacamars (18 species) Bucconidae – puffbirds (38 species) Indicatoridae – honeyguides (16 species) Picidae – woodpeckers (240 species) Megalaimidae – Asian barbets (35 species) Lybiidae – African barbets (42 species) Capitonidae – New World barbets (15 species) Semnornithidae – toucan barbets (2 species) Ramphastidae – toucans (43 species)

Classification

Great barbet

Lineated barbet

Red-throated barbet

Subfamily Megalaiminae

Image	Genus	Living Species
	Psilopogon Müller, S., 1836	Psilopogon annamensis, Indochinese barbet Psilopogon armillaris, Flame-fronted barbet Psilopogon asiaticus, Blue-throated barbet Psilopogon auricularis, Necklaced barbet Psilopogon australis, Yellow-eared barbet Psilopogon chersonesus, Turquoise-throated barbet Psilopogon chrysopogon, Golden-whiskered barbet Psilopogon corvinus, Brown-throated barbet Psilopogon cyanotis, Blue-eared barbet Psilopogon duvaucelii, Black-eared barbet Psilopogon eximius, Bornean barbet Psilopogon faber, Chinese barbet Psilopogon faiostrictus, Green-eared barbet Psilopogon flavifrons, Yellow-fronted barbet Psilopogon franklinii, Golden-throated barbet Psilopogon haemacephalus, Coppersmith barbet Psilopogon henricii, Yellow-crowned barbet Psilopogon incognitus, Moustached barbet Psilopogon javensis, Black-banded barbet Psilopogon lagrandieri, Red-vented barbet Psilopogon lineatus, Lineated barbet Psilopogon malabaricus, Malabar barbet Psilopogon monticola, Mountain barbet Psilopogon mystacophanos, Red-throated barbet Psilopogon nuchalis, Taiwan barbet Psilopogon oorti, Black-browed barbet Psilopogon pulcherrimus, Golden-naped barbet Psilopogon pyrolophus, Fire-tufted barbet Psilopogon rafflesii, Red-crowned barbet Psilopogon rubricapillus, Crimson-fronted barbet Psilopogon virens, Great barbet Psilopogon viridis, White-cheeked barbet Psilopogon zeylanicus, Brown-headed barbet

Subfamily Caloramphinae

Image	Genus	Living Species
	Caloramphus Lesson, 1839	Caloramphus fuliginosus, Brown barbet Caloramphus hayii, Sooty barbet

References

1. Short, L. L.; Horne, J.F.M. (2004). "Family Capitonidae (barbets)". In del Hoyo J.; Elliott A.; Christie D. A. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 7. Jamacars to Woodpeckers. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334375.
2. Ericson, P. G. P. (2012). "Evolution of terrestrial birds in three continents: biogeography and parallel radiations". Journal of Biogeography. 39 (5): 813–824. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02650.x.
3. den Tex, R.-J.; Leonard, J. A. (2013). "A molecular phylogeny of Asian barbets: Speciation and extinction in the tropics". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 68 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.03.004. PMID 23511217.
4. David, N. (2008). "Megalaiminae: the correct subfamily-group name for the Asian barbets". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 128 (1): 72.
5. Kuhl, H.; Frankl-Vilches, C.; Bakker, A.; Mayr, G.; Nikolaus, G.; Boerno, S.T.; Klages, S.; Timmermann, B.; Gahr, M. (2021). "An unbiased molecular approach using 3′-UTRs resolves the avian family-level tree of life". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 38 (1): 108–127. doi:10.1093/molbev/msaa191. hdl:21.11116/0000-0007-B72A-C.
6. Stiller, J.; et al. (2024). "Complexity of avian evolution revealed by family-level genomes". Nature. 629: 851–860. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07323-1. PMC 11111414.
7. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "IOC World Bird List Version 14.1". International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 17 June 2024.