View source for Tyto

{{Short description|Genus of birds}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{Geological range|Late Miocene|Recent}}
| image = Grass Owl adult.jpg
| image_caption = [[African grass owl]], ''Tyto capensis''<br/>The "grass owls" are two rather long-legged species of ''Tyto''.
| taxon = Tyto
| authority = [[Gustaf Johan Billberg|Billberg]], 1828
| type_species=''[[Western barn owl|Strix flammea]]''<ref name=HM4>{{cite web |url= https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=72 |title= Strigidae |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= aviansystematics.org |publisher= The Trust for Avian Systematics |access-date= 2023-07-26}}</ref> = ''Strix alba''
| type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1766
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = see text
| synonyms =
* ''Lechusa'' <small>[[Loye H. Miller|Miller]], 1956</small>
* ''Strix'' <small>''sensu  auct. non'' Linnaeus, 1758 – [[Strix (genus)|preoccupied]]</small>
}}
'''''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 [[Tytonidae|barn owl]] [[family (biology)|family]], [[Barn-owl|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]].<ref>{{ cite book | last=Billberg | first=Gustaf Johan Billberg | author-link=Gustaf Johan Billberg | date=1828 | title=Synopsis faunae Scandinaviae | volume=Tome 1, Part 2 Aves | at=Table | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43065231 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1940 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=4 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts  | page=77 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14476548 }}</ref> The name is from the [[Ancient Greek]] ''tutō'' meaning "owl".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=394 }}</ref>
The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') was formerly considered to have a global distribution with around 28 subspecies.<ref name=hbw>{{ cite book | last=Bruce | first=M.D. | year=1999 | chapter=Common barn-owl | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World | volume=5: Barn-owls to Hummingbirds | location=Barcelona, Spain | publisher=Lynx Edicions | isbn=978-84-87334-25-2 | page=71 | chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0005unse/page/71/mode/1up | chapter-url-access=registration }}</ref> In the list of birds maintained by [[Frank Gill (ornithologist)|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'').<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=August 2022 | title=Owls | work=IOC World Bird List Version 12.2  | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/owls/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=9 December 2022 }}</ref> 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 [[Locus (genetics)|loci]].<ref name=uva>{{Cite journal | last1=Uva | first1=V. | last2=Päckert | first2=M. | last3=Cibois | first3=A. | last4=Fumagalli | first4=L. | last5=Roulin | first5=A. | date=2018 | title=Comprehensive molecular phylogeny of barn owls and relatives (Family: Tytonidae), and their six major Pleistocene radiations | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=125 | pages=127–137 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2018.03.013| pmid=29535030 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2018MolPE.125..127U }}</ref> This split has not been adopted by other taxonomic authorities such as the [[The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World|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]].<ref>{{ cite web | last1=Clements | first1=J.F. | last2=Schulenberg | first2=T.S. | last3=Iliff | first3=M.J. | last4=Fredericks | first4=T.A. | last5=Gerbracht | first5=J.A. | last6=Lepage | first6=D. | last7=Billerman | first7=S.M. | last8=Sullivan | first8=B.L. | last9=Wood | first9=C.L. | year=2022 | title=The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2022 | url=http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ | access-date=10 December 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite web | title=Data Zone: HBW and BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist | publisher=BirdLife International | url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/taxonomy | access-date=10 December 2022 }}</ref>
The cladogram below is based on the 2018 phylogenetic study. The [[Andaman masked owl]] (''Tyto deroepstorffi'') and [[Itombwe owl]] (''Tyto prigoginei'') were not sampled. The [[Manus masked owl]] (''Tyto manusi'') was embedded in a clade with subspecies of the [[Australian masked owl]].<ref name=uva/>
{{clade|style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%
|label1=''Tyto''&nbsp;
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=[[Minahasa masked owl]] (''Tyto inexspectata'')
|2={{clade
|1=[[Eastern grass owl]] (''Tyto longimembris'')
|2=[[African grass owl]] (''Tyto capensis'')
}}
}}
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=[[Greater sooty owl]] (''Tyto tenebricosa'')
|2=[[Lesser sooty owl]] (''Tyto multipunctata'')
}}
|2={{clade
|1=[[Golden masked owl]] (''Tyto aurantia'')
|2={{clade
|1=[[Moluccan masked owl]] (''Tyto sororcula'')
|2=[[Australian masked owl]] (''Tyto novaehollandiae'')
}}
}}
}}
}}
|2={{clade
|1=[[Red owl]] (''Tyto soumagnei'')
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=[[Sulawesi masked owl]] (''Tyto rosenbergii'')
|2={{clade
|1=[[Eastern barn owl]] (''Tyto javanica'')
|2=[[Taliabu masked owl]] (''Tyto nigrobrunnea'')
}}
}}
|2={{clade
|1=[[Western barn owl]] (''Tyto alba'')
|2={{clade
|1=[[Ashy-faced owl]] (''Tyto glaucops'')
|2=[[American barn owl]] (''Tyto furcata'')
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
Throughout their [[evolution]]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]] were very large or truly gigantic species.
===Extant species===
Seventeen species are recognized:<ref name=ioc/>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !!  Common name !! Scientific name !! Distribution
|-
|[[File:Greater Sooty Owl, Papua New Guinea.jpg|120px]] || [[Greater sooty owl]] ||''Tyto tenebricosa''|| Australia
|-
|[[File:Lesser Sooty Owl at Bonadio's Mabi Wildlife Reserve.jpg|120px]] || [[Lesser sooty owl]] ||''Tyto multipunctata''|| Australia
|-
|[[File:Naturalis_Biodiversity_Center_-_ZMA.AVES.47378_-_Tyto_inexspectata_Schlegel,_1879_-_Tytonidae_-_skin_specimen.jpeg|120px]] || [[Minahasa masked owl]] ||''Tyto inexspectata''|| Sulawesi, Indonesia
|-
|<!-- [[File:Example.jpg|120px]] --> || [[Taliabu masked owl]] ||''Tyto nigrobrunnea''|| Sula Islands, Maluku, Indonesia
|-
|<!-- [[File:Example.jpg|120px]] --> || [[Moluccan masked owl]] ||''Tyto sororcula''|| south Moluccas of Indonesia
|-
|<!-- [[File:Example.jpg|120px]] --> || [[Manus masked owl]] ||''Tyto manusi''||Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands
|-
|<!-- [[File:Example.jpg|120px]] --> || [[Golden masked owl]] ||''Tyto aurantia''||the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea
|-
|[[File:Masked owl head 002.jpg|120px]]|| [[Australian masked owl]] ||''Tyto novaehollandiae''||Southern New Guinea and the non-desert areas of Australia.
|-
|[[File:Sulawesi owl Q0S0008.jpg|120px]] ||[[Sulawesi masked owl]] ||''Tyto rosenbergii''|| the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Sangihe and Peleng
|-
|[[File:Tyto soumagnei 6733815.jpg|120px]] ||[[Red owl]] ||''Tyto soumagnei''||[[Madagascar]]
|-
|[[File:0 Chouette effraie - Tyto alba - Annevoie.JPG|120px]] ||[[Western barn owl]] ||''Tyto alba''||Eurasia and Africa.
|-
|[[File:Barn Owl Closeup (17036360686).jpg|120px]]|| [[American barn owl]] ||''Tyto furcata''||the Americas
|-
|[[File:Captive Eastern Barn Owl, Assam.jpg|120px]]|| [[Eastern barn owl]] ||''Tyto javanica''|| southeast Asia and Australasia.
|-
|[[File:Andaman Masked Owl SS.jpg|120px]]|| [[Andaman masked owl]] ||''Tyto deroepstorffi''|| southern Andaman Islands
|-hi
|[[File:Tyto glaucops.jpg|120px]] ||[[Ashy-faced owl]] ||''Tyto glaucops''||Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
|-
|[[File:Grass Owl adult.jpg|120px]] ||[[African grass owl]] ||''Tyto capensis''||southern Congo and northern Angola to the central coast of Mozambique and the other centred on South Africa from the Western Cape north to the southern extremities of Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique up to Kenya and Ethiopia.
|-
|[[File:Eastern-grass-owl-1134817.jpg|120px]]|| [[Eastern grass owl]] ||''Tyto longimembris''||eastern, southern and southeast Asia, parts of New Guinea, Australia (mainly in Queensland) and the western Pacific
|-
|
|[[Itombwe owl]]
|''Tyto prigoginei''
|[[Itombwe Mountains]] in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
|-
|}
===Extinct species===
;Known from ancient [[fossil]]s:
* ''Tyto sanctialbani'' (Middle - Late Miocene of Central Europe) - formerly in ''[[Strix (genus)|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)<!-- AnuOrnitolBalears16:3. Ardeola51:91. Geobios2:157. -->
* ''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)<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=SUÁREZ|first1=WILLIAM|last2=OLSON|first2=STORRS L.|date=2020-08-14|title=<p><strong>Systematics and distribution of the living and fossil small barn owls of the West Indies (Aves: Strigiformes: Tytonidae)</strong></p>|url=https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4830.3.4|journal=Zootaxa|volume=4830|issue=3|pages=544–564|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4830.3.4|pmid=33056145 |s2cid=222819958 |issn=1175-5334}}</ref>
* ''Tyto'' sp. 1 <!-- Siculo-Maltese? IntGeolCongr32FieldTripGuideBookB07? -->
* ''Tyto'' sp. 2
;Late prehistoric extinctions usually known from [[subfossil]] remains:
[[File:Tyto cavatica.jpg|thumb|Fossils of ''Tyto cavatica'']]
[[File:Tyto ostologa.jpg|thumb|Fossil of ''Tyto ostologa'']]
* Mussau barn owl (''Tyto'' cf. ''novaehollandiae'') found in [[Mussau]]<ref name = steadman2006>Steadman (2006)</ref>
* New Ireland greater barn owl (''Tyto'' cf. ''novaehollandiae'') found in [[New Ireland (island)|New Ireland]]
* New Ireland lesser barn owl (''Tyto'' cf. ''alba/aurantiaca'') found in New Ireland<ref name = steadman2006 />
* [[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<!-- CaribbJSci40:120 -->
* [[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 (genus)|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 (genus)|Strix]]'' has been misapplied by many early scientists as a "[[wastebasket taxon]]" for many owls, including ''Tyto''.<ref>Mlíkovský (2002): p.217</ref>
* ''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<ref name = Mlíkovský2002 />
* ''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{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}.
* ''Tyto ignota'' (Middle Miocene of Sansan, France) was a strigid owl of unclear affinities; while it might belong into ''Strix'', this requires confirmation<ref name = Mlíkovský2002>Mlíkovský (2002)</ref>
* "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''<ref>Ballmann (1969)</ref>
==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==
{{Reflist}}
==References==
* Ballmann, Peter (1969). Les Oiseaux miocènes de la Grive-Saint-Alban (Isère) [The Miocene birds of Grive-Saint-Alban (Isère)]. ''[[Geobios]]'' '''2''': 157–204. [French with English abstract] <small>{{doi|10.1016/S0016-6995(69)80005-7}}</small> (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. {{ISBN|84-87334-25-3}}
* Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002). ''Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe''. Ninox Press, Prague. <small>{{Listed Invalid ISBN|80-901105-3-8}}</small> [http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf PDF fulltext] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520101755/http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf |date=2011-05-20 }}<!-- This should be treated with extreme caution as regards merging of species. Splits are usually good though. See also critical review in Auk121:623-627 here http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3793/is_200404/ai_n9396879 -->
* [[Storrs Olson|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. <small>{{ISBN|0-226-77142-3}}.</small>
==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Tyto|''Tyto''}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline|Tyto|''Tyto''}}
{{Strigiformes|S.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q375716}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Tyto| ]]
[[Category:Bird genera]]
[[Category:Extant Miocene first appearances]]