Phasianoidea is a
superfamily
SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...
of birds of the
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
of the
Galliformes
Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are often ...
.
Taxonomy
Description
The superfamily was described in 1825 by the Irish
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
Nicholas Aylward Vigors
Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – 26 October 1840) was an Ireland, Irish zoologist and politician. He popularized the classification of birds on the basis of the quinarian system.
Early life
Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow on 17 ...
.
Etymology
The name ''Phasianoidea'' is formed by the union of the elements of
scientific Latin
Contemporary Latin is the form of the Literary Latin used since the end of the 19th century. Various kinds of contemporary Latin can be distinguished, including the use of New Latin words in taxonomy and in science generally, and the fuller e ...
''Phasian-'' and ''-oidea''. The first is the genitive root of the name of its
type genus
In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name.
Zoological nomenclature
According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...
, ''
Phasianus
The "typical" pheasant genus ''Phasianus'' in the family Phasianidae consists of two species. The genus name is Latin for pheasant.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Phasianus'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edi ...
''; and the second is the ending ''-oidea'', neutral plural of ''-oideus'', derived from
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
εἴδος ''eidos'', 'aspect', 'appearance', 'form', with the union vowel ''-o-'', used in the formation of numerous names of orders and superfamilies of animals. Literally: 'those who look like pheasants'.
Families
![Capercaillie (8751340764)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Capercaillie_%288751340764%29.jpg)
The superfamily is subdivided into three families:
Phasianoidea
en Stefan Hintsche (2013): System der Lebewesen (System of living beings).
Superfamily ''Phasianoidea'' Vigors, 1825 – 225 species
* Family ''Numididae
Guineafowl (; sometimes called "pet speckled hens" or "original fowl") are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetics, Phylogenetically, ...
'' Reichenbach, 1850 – 6 species
* Family ''Odontophoridae
The New World quail are small birds only distantly related to the Old World quail, but named for their similar appearance and habits. The American species are in their own family, the Odontophoridae, whereas Old World quail are in the pheasant f ...
'' Gould, 1844 – 34 species
* Family ''Phasianidae
The Phasianidae are a family (biology), family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, Turkey bird, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular Game (hunti ...
'' Vigors, 1825 – 185 species
References
Bibliography
* del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Sargatal, J. (1994): "New World Vultures to Guineafowl". In ''Handbook of the Birds of the World
The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. T ...
''. Volume 2. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions
Lynx Edicions is a Spanish publishing company specializing in ornithology and natural history.
History
Lynx Edicions was founded in Barcelona by , a lawyer and collector; , a naturalist; and , a medical doctor and writer. Since 2002, the company ...
. .
External links
Phasianoidea
in ADW.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q22933805
Galliformes
Bird superfamilies