Australaves
Australaves
Clade of birds
Australaves[3] is a recently defined[4] clade of birds, consisting of the Eufalconimorphae (passerines, parrots and falcons) as well as the Cariamiformes (including seriemas and the extinct "terror birds").[5] They appear to be the sister group of Afroaves.[5] As in the case of Afroaves, the most basal clades have predatory extant members, suggesting this was the ancestral lifestyle;[6] however, some researchers like Darren Naish are skeptical of this assessment, since some extinct representatives such as the herbivorous Strigogyps led other lifestyles.[7] Basal parrots and falcons are at any rate vaguely crow-like and probably omnivorous.[8]
Australaves |
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Cladogram of Telluraves relationships based on Kuhl et al. (2020) and Braun & Kimball (2021)[2][9]