Tyto

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Tyto

The genus

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
Tyto includes all barn-owls (family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
Tytonidae) except for the bay-owls (subfamily Phodilinae, genus Phodilus) - that is, the true barn-owls, the grass-owls and the masked-owls collectively making up the subfamily Tytoninae. 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.

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Encyclopedia

The genus

Genus

Family (biology)

Evolution

In biology, evolution is change in the heritability trait of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. These changes are caused by a combination of three main processes: variation, reproduction, and selection....
ary 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

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
were very large or truly gigantic species.

Systematics

Living and recently extinct species - and some notable subspecies

Subspecies

In biology, subspecies is the taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a species. A subspecies is a taxonomic group which is less distinct than the Common descent or species from which it originates....
- of barn-owls are:

Greater Sooty-owl Tyto tenebricosa
Lesser Sooty-owl
Lesser Sooty-owl

The Lesser Sooty-owl lives in the wet tropics region of Australia. Like other birds of prey the female is bigger than the male . The lesser sooty-owl is part of the masked group of owls an important part of the environment because they are efficient predators that keep down rodent populations....
Tyto multipunctata
Australian Masked-owl Tyto novaehollandiae

Cave-nesting Masked Owl, Tyto novaehollandiae troughtoni - validity doubtful, probably extinct (1960s)

Golden Masked-owl
Golden Masked-owl

The Golden Masked-owl is a Tytonidae endemism to the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. It is also known as New Britain Barn-owl, New Britain Masked-owl, Bismarck Owl and Bismarck Masked-owl....
Tyto aurantia
Lesser Masked-owl
Lesser Masked-owl

The Lesser Masked-owl, Effraie Des Tanimbar, or Lechuza De Las Tanimbar is a species of owl in the Tytonidae family.It is Endemism to Indonesia....
Tyto sororcula

Buru Masked-owl, Tyto (sororcula) cayelii - possibly extinct (mid-20th century?)

Manus Masked-owl Tyto manusi
Taliabu Masked-owl Tyto nigrobrunnea
Minahassa Masked-owl Tyto inexspectata
Sulawesi Owl
Sulawesi Owl

The Sulawesi Owl is a species of owl in the Tytonidae family.It is Endemism to Indonesia....
or Sulawesi Masked-owl, Tyto rosenbergii

Peleng Masked-owl, Tyto rosenbergii pelengensis - probably extinct (mid-20th century)

Barn Owl
Barn Owl

?:The city in Russia is spelled Barnaul.The Barn Owl is the most Cosmopolitan distribution species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds....
or Common Barn-owl, Tyto alba

Eastern Barn-owl, Tyto (alba) delicatula

Ashy-faced Owl
Ashy-faced Owl

The Ashy-faced Owl is a species of owl in the Tytonidae family.It is found in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest....
, Tyto glaucops
Madagascar Red Owl
Madagascar Red Owl

The Madagascar Red Owl, Tyto soumagnei, is an owl in the barn owl Family Tytonidae. It is also known as the Madagascar Grass-owl and Soumange's Owl....
Tyto soumagnei
African Grass-owl
African Grass-owl

The African Grass-owl is a species of owl in the Tytonidae family.It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe....
Tyto capensis
Australasian Grass-owl Tyto longimembris

Early prehistoric extinctions

Known from ancient fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or trace fossil of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous Rock formations and sedimentary rock layers is known as the fossil record....
s

Tyto sanctialbani (Middle - Late Miocene of C Europe) - formerly in Strix
Strix (genus)

Strix is a genus of owls. They belong to the typical owl family Strigidae, one of the two generally accepted living families of owls, with the other being the barn-owls ....
, includes T. campiterrae
Tyto robusta
Tyto robusta

Tyto robusta was a prehistoric barn-owl. It lived at what is now Monte Gargano in Italy, and was an island throughout much of the Neogene when sea levels were higher....
(Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Gargano Peninsula, Italy)

Tyto (robusta) gigantea
Tyto gigantea

Tyto gigantea is an extinct barn owl from what is now Gargano, Italy, dating back to the late Miocene. From its remains, T. gigantea is suggested to have been as large as, or larger than the Eurasian Eagle-owl, Bubo bubo....
(Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Gargano Peninsula, Italy)

Tyto balearica (Late Miocene - Middle Pleistocene of WC Mediterranean)
Tyto mourerchauvireae (Middle Pleistocene of Sicily, Mediterranean)
Tyto jinniushanensis (Pleistocene of Jing Niu Shan, China)
Tyto sp. 1
Tyto sp. 2

Late prehistoric extinctions
Late Quaternary prehistoric birds

Prehistoric birds are various taxon of birds that became extinct before recorded history, or more precisely, before they could be studied alive by ornithologys....

Usually known from subfossil

Subfossil

Subfossil refers to remains whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the condition in which they were buried were not optimal for fossilization....
remains.
Melanesia

Melanesia

Melanesia literally means "islands of the black-skinned people". It is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western side of the West Pacific to the Arafura Sea, north and northeast of Australia....
:

Mussau Barn-owl, Tyto cf. novaehollandiae (Mussau)
New Ireland Greater Barn-owl, Tyto cf. novaehollandiae (New Ireland)
New Ireland Lesser Barn-owl, Tyto cf. alba/aurantiaca (New Ireland)
New Caledonian Barn-owl, ?Tyto letocarti (New Caledonia) - tentatively placed here

Caribbean

Puerto Rican Barn-owl, Tyto cavatica (Puerto Rico) - may still have existed in 1912; possibly a subspecies of T. glaucops
Noel's Barn-owl, Tyto noeli (Cuba)
Rivero's Barn-owl, Tyto riveroi (Cuba)
Cuban Barn-owl, Tyto sp. (Cuba)
Hispaniolan Barn-owl, Tyto ostologa (Hispaniola)
Bahaman Barn-owl, Tyto pollens (Andros, Bahamas) - may have survived to the 16th century
Barbuda Barn-owls, Tyto sp. (Barbuda and possibly Antigua) - at least 2 species

Mediterranean:

Maltese Barn-owl, Tyto melitensis (Malta) - formerly in Strix
Strix (genus)

Strix is a genus of owls. They belong to the typical owl family Strigidae, one of the two generally accepted living families of owls, with the other being the barn-owls ....
, possibly paleosubspecies of Tyto alba

Formerly placed in Tyto

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

Osteology

Osteology is the science of bone. A subdiscipline of anthropology and archeology, osteology is a detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, morphology , function, disease, pathology, the process of ossification , the resistance and hardness of bones , etc....
between true owls and barn-owls, there has been parallel evolution

Parallel evolution

Parallel evolution is the independent evolution of similar traits, starting from a similar ancestral condition due to similar environments or other evolutionary pressures....
to some degree and thus isolated fossil bones cannot necessarily be assigned to either family without thorough study. Notably, the genus Strix
Strix (genus)

Strix is a genus of owls. They belong to the typical owl family Strigidae, one of the two generally accepted living families of owls, with the other being the barn-owls ....
has been misapplied by many early scientists as a "wastebin taxon

Wastebin taxon

Wastebasket taxon is a term used in Alpha taxonomy circles to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else....
" 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
Taxon

A taxon or taxonomic unit is a name designating an organism or a group of organisms. In biological nomenclature according to Carl Linnaeus, a taxon is assigned a taxonomic rank and can be placed at a particular level in a systematic hierarchy reflecting evolutionary relationships....
might be a nomen nudum
Nomen nudum

The phrase nomen nudum is a Latin language term, meaning "naked name". In taxonomy, this is used to indicate a term or phrase which looks like a scientific name, and may well have been intended to become a scientific name, but fails to be one because it was not published with an adequate description , and thus is "bare" or "naked"....
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 genus; it might belong into Strix or the European Ninox
Ninox

Ninox is a genus of owls comprised of about 20 species found in Asia and Australasia. Many species are known as hawk owls. Note that the Northern Hawk Owl Surnia ulula is not a member of this genus....
-like group.
"Tyto" ignota (Middle Miocene of Sansan, France) was a strigid owl of unclear affinities; while it might belong into Strix this requires confirmation.
"TMT 164", a distal left tarsometatarsus
Tarsometatarsus

The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is found in the lower leg of certain tetrapods, namely birds.It is formed from the fusion of several bones found in other types of animals, and homologous to the mammalian Tarsus and metatarsus bones....
of a supposed Tyto from the Middle Miocene Grive-Saint-Alban (France) might also belong into Prosybris as it is similar to "Tyto" antiqua.

Tyto

Systematics

Early prehistoric extinctions

Late prehistoric extinctionsLate Quaternary prehistoric birdsPrehistoric birds are various taxon of birds that became extinct before recorded history, or more precisely, before they could be studied alive by ornithologys....

Formerly placed in Tyto

Footnotes

Late prehistoric extinctions
Late Quaternary prehistoric birds

Prehistoric birds are various taxon of birds that became extinct before recorded history, or more precisely, before they could be studied alive by ornithologys....