Cladogram of the genera in Tityridae based on the results of Tello and colleagues published in 2009.[1]
Tityridae is family of suboscinepasserine birds found in forest and woodland in the Neotropics. The 45 species in this family were formerly spread over the families Tyrannidae, Pipridae and Cotingidae (see Taxonomy). As yet, no widely accepted common name exists for the family, although tityras and allies and tityras, mourners and allies have been used. They are small to medium-sized birds. Under current classification, the family ranges in size from the buff-throated purpletuft, at 9.5 cm (3.7 in) and 10 grams (0.35 ounces), to the masked tityra, at up to 24 cm (9.5 in) and 88 grams (3.1 ounces).[2][3] Most have relatively short tails and large heads.
The family Tityridae (as the subfamily Tityrinae) containing the genera Tityra and Pachyramphus was introduced by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1840.[4][5]
The existence of the family Tityridae (although simply treated as a clade) was first proposed in 1989 based on the morphology of several syringeal and skeletal features.[7] The existence of this family has later been confirmed by multiple studies involving both mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA.[8][9][10][11][12] Evidence suggests there are two basalclades within this family, the first including the genera Schiffornis, Laniocera, and Laniisoma (with strong bootstrap support), and the second include Iodopleura, Tityra, Xenopsaris, and Pachyramphus (with poor bootstrap support).[13]
Amolecular phylogenetic study of passerine families published in 2019 sampled species from five genera in Tityridae. The resulting tree indicates that if the family Tityridae is defined to include the genera Oxyruncus, Myiobius and Onychorhynchus then it becomes paraphyletic: a clade containing the genera Tityra and Schiffornisisbasal to a clade that contains the genera Oxyruncus, Myiobius, Onychorhynchus and the family Tyrannidae.[14]
^Snow, D.; Sharpe, C.J. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Buff-throated Purpletuft (Iodopleura pipra)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
^Mobley, J.; de Juana, E. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Masked Tityra (Tityra semifasciata)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
Media related to Tityridae at Wikimedia Commons
