Tyto alba close up.jpg

''Tyto'' is a genus of birds consisting of true barn owls, grass owls and masked owls that collectively make up all the species within the subfamily Tytoninae of the barn owl family, Tytonidae.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Tyto'' was introduced in 1828 by the Swedish naturalist Gustaf Johan Billberg with the western barn owl as the type species. The name is from the Ancient Greek ''tutō'' meaning "owl".

The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') was formerly considered to have a global distribution with around 28 subspecies. In the list of birds maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) the barn owl is now split into four species: the western barn owl (''Tyto alba'') (10 subspecies), the American barn owl (''Tyto furcata'') (12 subspecies), the eastern barn owl (''Tyto javanica'') (7 subspecies) and the Andaman masked owl (''Tyto deroepstorffi''). This arrangement is followed here. Some support for this split was provided by a molecular phylogenetic study by Vera Uva and collaborators published in 2018 that compared the DNA sequences of three mitochondrial and one nuclear loci. This split has not been adopted by other taxonomic authorities such as the Clements Checklist of Birds of the World maintained by members of Cornell University or by the list maintained by BirdLife International that is used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The cladogram below is based on the 2018 phylogenetic study. The Andaman masked owl (''Tyto deroepstorffi'') was not sampled. The Manus masked owl (''Tyto manusi'') was embedded in a clade with subspecies of the Australian masked owl.

Throughout their evolutionary history, ''Tyto'' owls have shown a better capability to colonize islands than other owls. Several such island forms have become extinct, some long ago, but some in comparatively recent times. A number of insular barn owls from the Mediterranean and the Caribbean were very large or truly gigantic species.

Extant species

Seventeen species are recognized:

Extinct species

;Known from ancient fossils:
* ''Tyto sanctialbani'' (Middle - Late Miocene of Central Europe) - formerly in ''Strix''; includes ''T. campiterrae''
* ''Tyto robusta'' (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of the Gargano Peninsula, Italy)
* ''Tyto gigantea'' (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of the Gargano Peninsula, Italy)
* ''Tyto balearica'' (Late Miocene - Middle Pleistocene of the west-central Mediterranean)
* ''Tyto mourerchauvireae'' (Middle Pleistocene of Sicily, Mediterranean)
* ''Tyto jinniushanensis'' (Pleistocene of Jing Niu Shan, China)
*''Tyto maniola'' – Cuban Dwarf Barn Owl (Late Pleistocene of Cuba)
* ''Tyto'' sp. 1
* ''Tyto'' sp. 2

;Late prehistoric extinctions usually known from subfossil remains:


* Mussau barn owl (''Tyto'' cf. ''novaehollandiae'') found in MussauSteadman (2006)
* New Ireland greater barn owl (''Tyto'' cf. ''novaehollandiae'') found in New Ireland
* New Ireland lesser barn owl (''Tyto'' cf. ''alba/aurantiaca'') found in New Ireland
* New Caledonian barn owl (''Tyto letocarti'') found in New Caledonia - tentatively placed here
* Puerto Rican barn owl (''Tyto cavatica'') found in Puerto Rico - may still have existed up to 1912; possibly a subspecies of the ashy-faced owl (''Tyto glaucops'')
* Noel's barn owl (''Tyto noeli'') found in Cuba
* Rivero's barn owl (''Tyto riveroi'') found in Cuba
* Cuban barn owl (''Tyto'' sp.) found in Cuba
* Hispaniolan barn owl (''Tyto ostologa'') found in Hispaniola
* Bahaman barn owl ('' Tyto pollens'') found in Little Exuma, New Providence, and maybe Andros Island, the Bahamas - may have survived into the 16th century
* Barbuda barn owl (''Tyto neddi'') found in Barbuda and possibly Antigua
* Maltese barn owl (''Tyto melitensis'') found in Malta - formerly in ''Strix''; possibly a paleosubspecies of ''Tyto alba''

Former species

A number of owl fossils were at one time assigned to the present genus, but are nowadays placed elsewhere. While there are clear differences in osteology between typical owls and barn owls, there has been parallel evolution to some degree and thus isolated fossil bones cannot necessarily be assigned to either family without thorough study. Notably, the genus ''Strix'' has been misapplied by many early scientists as a " wastebasket taxon" for many owls, including ''Tyto''.
* ''Tyto antiqua'' (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene of Quercy? - Early Miocene of France) was a barn owl of the prehistoric genus '' Prosybris''; this taxon might be a ''nomen nudum'', as the species was originally described in ''Strix'', this requires confirmation
* ''Tyto edwardsi'' (Late Miocene of Grive-Saint-Alban, France) was a strigid owl, but has not yet been reliably identified to a genus; it might belong in ''Strix'' or the European '' Ninox''-like group.
* ''Tyto ignota'' (Middle Miocene of Sansan, France) was a strigid owl of unclear affinities; while it might belong into ''Strix'', this requires confirmationMlíkovský (2002)
* "TMT 164", a distal left tarsometatarsus of a supposed ''Tyto'' from the Middle Miocene Grive-Saint-Alban (France); might also belong in ''Prosybris'', as it is similar to ''Tyto antiqua''Ballmann (1969)

Description

They are darker on the back than the front, usually an orange-brown colour, the front being a paler version of the back or mottled, although there is considerable variation even amongst species. ''Tyto'' owls have a divided, heart-shaped facial disc, and lack the ear-like tufts of feathers found in many other owls. ''Tyto'' owls tend to be larger than bay owls. The name ''tyto (τυτώ)'' is onomatopeic Greek for owl.

Footnotes

References

* Ballmann, Peter (1969). Les Oiseaux miocènes de la Grive-Saint-Alban (Isère) he Miocene birds of Grive-Saint-Alban (Isère) ''Geobios'' 2: 157–204. rench with English abstract (HTML abstract)
* Bruce, M.D. (1999). Family Tytonidae (Barn-owls). ''In:'' del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (eds): '' Handbook of Birds of the World'' Vol. 5 (Barn-owls to Hummingbirds): 34–75, plates 1–3. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
* Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002). ''Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe''. Ninox Press, Prague. PDF fulltext

* Olson, Storrs L. (1985). Section IX.C. Strigiformes. ''In:'' Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): ''Avian Biology'' 8: 129–132. Academic Press, New York.
* Steadman, David William (2006). ''Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds''. University of Chicago Press. .

External links

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q375716

Bird genera
Extant Miocene first appearances