The Tyranni (suboscines) are a suborder of passerine birds that includes more than 1,000 species, a large majority of which are South American. It is named after the type genus Tyrannus. These have a different anatomy of the syrinx musculature than the oscines (songbirds of the larger suborder Passeri), hence the common name of suboscines.
| Tyranni Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dusky-capped flycatcher (Myiarchus tuberculifer) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Clade: | Eupasseres |
| Suborder: | Tyranni |
| Infraorders | |
The suboscines originated in South America about 50 million years ago[1] and dispersed into the Old World likely via a trans-Atlantic route during the Oligocene.[2] Their presence in the early Oligocene of Europe is well documented by several fossil specimens.[3]
Systematics
The suborder Tyranni is divided into two infraorders: the Eurylaimides and the Tyrannides. The New Zealand wrens in the family Acanthisittidae are placed in a separate suborder Acanthisitti.[4]
The phylogenetic relationships of the 16 families in the Tyranni suborder is shown below. The cladogram is based on a large molecular genetic study by Carl Oliveros and collaborators published in 2019:[4] The families and the species numbers are from the list maintained by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).[5]
| Tyranni |
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The Eurylaimides contain the Old World suboscines – mainly distributed in tropical regions around the Indian Ocean – and a single American species, the sapayoa:[4]
- Philepittidae: asities
- Eurylaimidae: typical broadbills
- Calyptomenidae: African and green broadbills
- Sapayoidae: broad-billed sapayoa
- Pittidae: pittas
The Tyrannides contain all the suboscines from the Americas except the broad-billed sapayoa. The families listed here are those recognised by the International Ornithologists' Union.[5]
- Pipridae: manakins
- Cotingidae: cotingas
- Tityridae: tityras, sharpbill, becards (includes Oxyruncus and Onychorhynchus)
- Tyrannidae: tyrant-flycatchers (includes Piprites, Platyrinchus, Tachuris and Rhynchocyclus)
- Melanopareiidae: crescent chests
- Conopophagidae: gnateaters and gnatpittas
- Thamnophilidae: antbirds
- Grallariidae: antpittas
- Rhinocryptidae: tapaculos
- Formicariidae: antthrushes
- Furnariidae: ovenbirds and woodcreepers (includes Dendrocolaptidae)
This group has been separated into three parvorders by Sibley & Ahlquist. However, DNA:DNA hybridization did not reliably resolve the suboscine phylogeny. It was eventually determined that there was a simple dichotomy between the antbirds and allies (tracheophones), and the tyrant-flycatchers and allies.[6] Given that the "parvorder" arrangement originally advanced is obsolete (see e.g. Irestedt et al. 2002 for tracheophone phylogeny) — more so if the Eurylaimides are elevated to a distinct suborder — it is better to rank the clades as superfamilies or, if the broadbill group is considered a separate suborder, as infraorders. In the former case, the name Furnarioidea would be available for the tracheophones, whereas "Tyrannoidea", the "bronchophone" equivalent, has not yet been formally defined.[7] In the latter case, the tracheophones would be classified as "Furnariides",[8] while the Tyrannides would be restricted to the tyrant-flycatchers and other "bronchophone" families.
The tracheophones contain the Furnariidae, Thamnophilidae, Formicariidae (probably including most tapaculos), and Conopophagidae. The tyrant-flycatcher clade includes the namesake family, the Tityridae, the Cotingidae, and the Pipridae.
References
Further reading
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