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]
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]
The Eurylaimides contain the Old World suboscines – mainly distributed in tropical regions around the Indian Ocean – and a single American species, the sapayoa:[4]
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]
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(tracheophones), and the tyrant-flycatchers and allies.[6] Given that the "parvorder" arrangement originally advanced is obsolete (see e.g. Irestedt et al. 2002 for tracheophone phylogeny) — more so if the Eurylaimides are elevated to a distinct suborder — it is better to rank the clades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.
^Selvatti, A. P.; Galvão, A.; Mayr, G.; Miyaki, C. Y.; Russo, C A. de Moraes (2022). "Southern hemisphere tectonics in the Cenozoic shaped the pantropical distribution of parrots and passerines". Journal of Biogeography. 49 (10): 1753–1766. doi:10.1111/jbi.14466.
^ abGill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023). "Family Index". IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
^
A conceivable vernacular name would be "bronchophones". This would parallel the German vernacular names, Luftröhrenschreier (tracheophones) and Bronchienschreier (bronchophones).
^
And thus should not be used without quotation marks.
^
See remark at "Tyrannoidea". This peculiarity is explained by the fact that Sibley & Ahlquist's analyses erroneously suggested an overly complex phylogeny for the tracheophones, and a much simpler one for the tyrant-flycatchers and allies.
Irestedt, Martin; Fjeldså, Jon; Johansson, Ulf S. & Ericson, Per G.P. (2002): Systematic relationships and biogeography of the tracheophone suboscines (Aves: Passeriformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution23(3): 499–512. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00034-9 (HTML abstract)
