Mimus
| Mimus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Chilean mockingbird (M. thenca) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Mimidae |
| Genus: | Mimus F. Boie, 1826 |
| Type species | |
| Turdus polyglottos Linnaeus, 1758
| |
| Species | |
|
14 recognized species, see text | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Nesomimus Ridgway, 1890 | |
Mimus is a genus of passerine birds in the family Mimidae. It contains the typical mockingbirds.
Taxonomy
[edit]The genus Mimus was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie to contain a single species, Turdus polyglottis Linnaeus, 1758, the northern mockingbird, which becomes the type species by monotypy.[1][2] The genus name is Latin for "mimic".[3] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2006 found that the genus Nesomimus, containing the species endemic to the Galápagos islands, was embedded in the genus Mimus.[4] The genera were therefore merged under the earlier name, Mimus.[5] The position of the Galápagos species within the genus Mimus was confirmed by a more comprehensive study published in 2016.[6]
The genus contains 14 species:[7]
- Brown-backed mockingbird, Mimus dorsalis
- Bahama mockingbird, Mimus gundlachii
- Long-tailed mockingbird, Mimus longicaudatus
- Patagonian mockingbird, Mimus patagonicus
- Chilean mockingbird, Mimus thenca
- White-banded mockingbird, Mimus triurus
- Northern mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
- Socorro mockingbird, Mimus graysoni
- Tropical mockingbird, Mimus gilvus
- Chalk-browed mockingbird, Mimus saturninus
The Nesomimus group includes the following species endemic to the Galápagos Islands:
- Española mockingbird, Mimus macdonaldi (formerly Hood mockingbird)
- Galápagos mockingbird, Mimus parvulus
- Floreana mockingbird or Charles mockingbird, Mimus trifasciatus
- San Cristóbal mockingbird, Mimus melanotis
The Nesomimus group is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. These mockingbirds were important in Charles Darwin's development of the theory of evolution by natural selection.
Previous to the merger between Nesomimus and Mimus scientists have proved in 1971 that both groups can produce hybrids. Robert I. Bowman and Anne Carter have studied a female Galápagos mockingbird and a male from the long-tailed mockingbird subspecies Mimus longicaudatus punensis that have interbred. They raised a hybrid offspring to adulthood.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Boie, Friedrich (1826). "Generalübersicht der ornithologischen Ordnungen, Familien und Gattungen". Isis von Oken (in German). 19. Cols 969–981 [972].
- ^ Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1960). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 9. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 442.
- ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 255. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Arbogast, B.S.; Drovetski, S.V.; Curry, R.L.; Boag, P.T.; Seutin, G.; Grant, P.R.; Grant, B.R.; Anderson, D.J. (2006). "The origin and diversification of Galapagos mockingbirds". Evolution. 60 (2): 370–382. doi:10.1111/j.0014-3820.2006.tb01113.x.
- ^ Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 572, Note 7. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.
- ^ Lovette, I.J.; Arbogast, B.S.; Curry, R.L.; Zink, R.M.; Botero, C.A.; Sullivan, J.P.; Talaba, A.L.; Harris, R.B.; Rubenstein, D.R.; Ricklefs, R.E.; Bermingham, E. (2012). "Phylogenetic relationships of the mockingbirds and thrashers (Aves: Mimidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 63 (2): 219–229. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.07.009.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Nuthatches, Wallcreeper, treecreepers, mockingbirds, starlings, oxpeckers". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ Bowman, R. I. and A. Carter (1971). "Egg-pecking behavior in Galapagos mockingbirds". Living Bird 10:243-270. ISSN 1059-521X.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Mimus at Wikimedia Commons
- Darwin's Mockingbirds; a site about the Nesomimus group run by Professor Robert L. Curry of Villanova University.