Owls (4 Viewers)

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

But Bubo as defined now is very unlikely to be wrong.
There's at most 8 species in Ketupa that might change genus when new studies come out.
If you lump everything in Bubo now, you need to change 15 species later...

Some will say that this would create small genera unnecessarily so we might as well keep a large genus, even if imperfect. Otherwise, we might as well split Bubo stricto sensu into 3 genera to have a coherent taxonomic balance between each lineage.

 

[Peter Kovalik]

Proposal (977) to SACC

Treat Megascops atricapilla as conspecific with M. watsonii

DID NOT PASS

 

[Maffong]

Gonzaga, L.P., Peixoto, L.F. Rediscovery of spectacled owl Pulsatrix perspicillata pulsatrix in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil with remarks on its taxonomy and distribution. Ornithol. Res. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43388-024-00199-9

Paper

Abstract
Two subspecies of the spectacled owl Pulsatrix perspicillata (Latham, 1790) are recorded for Brazil: P.p.perspicillata, widely distributed, and P.p.pulsatrix (Wied, 1820), restricted to the southern portion of the Atlantic Forest. The latter was last documented in 1974 and is considered a critically endangered taxon in Brazil. Here we report on the continued existence of P.p.pulsatrix fifty years later, based on a road-killed bird, and a second one photographed and tape-recorded in December 2022 on the northern coast of the state of São Paulo. These represent the first photographic documentation of this taxon in the wild, and the third available recording of its song. The plumage of P.p.pulsatrix differs from that of other subspecies of P. perspicillata in having the facial markings (forming the ‘spectacle’) less contrasting with the surrounding plumage, and having the crown, nape and breast band concolorous with the back and tail. In addition, we observed that the song of P.p.pulsatrix appears to differ from that of other subspecies of P. perspicillata in having an overall slower pace, with the interval between syllables expanding and the dominant frequency increasing slightly. These acoustic differences, documented here for the first time, are at least partially in line with those previously noted to consider P.p.pulsatrix a separate taxon, which was dismissed in a more recent revision of the genus. We argue that, considering such differences and the geographical distribution of both taxa, P.p.pulsatrix should indeed be recognized as an Evolutionarily Significant Unit, as either a subspecies or a species. Furthermore, we highlight that P.p.perspicillata has been recently recorded in historical record locations of P.p.pulsatrix, which may indicate an expansion of the former’s range and represent an additional threat to this vanishing owl.

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

I saw there was a sequence of Bubo philippensis on Genbank. Is there any way to know where is its position among genus Bubo?

 

[l_raty]

I saw there was a sequence of Bubo philippensis on Genbank. Is there any way to know where is its position among genus Bubo?

To get a quick, rough idea (without any estimation of support):

• go to the page of the sequence you want to query in GenBank;
• click the "Run BLAST" link in the right column;
• scroll down and click the blue "BLAST" button;
• wait until you get the results, which may take a bit of time (I just ran it, so can direct you straight to the results : it will look like this -- this link will expire in a couple of days);
• once on the result page, click "Distance tree of results" : this will open another page, showing a tree built from the 100 sequences that match your query most closely.

Some branches may be collapsed in the tree as shown in the viewer, they can be expanded by right-clicking the tree and selecting "Expand all".
After doing this, you may have to zoom in the tree to see the sample IDs (you can click the "TXT" button in the toolbar right above the tree viewer, this will get you a level of zooming that makes the text readable).
Alternatively, you can also download the tree by clicking "Tools" in the toolbar, then selecting "Download", and your preferred format.
I have attached what you get by selecting "PDF file".

(Beware some sequences in GenBank are misidentified, or chimeric; these will be included in the tree, which can have odd consequences.)

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

To get a quick, rough idea (no estimation of support):

• go to the page of the sequence you want to query in GenBank;
• click the "Run BLAST" link in the right column;
• scroll down and click the blue "BLAST" button;
• wait until you get the results, which may take a bit of time (I just ran it, so can direct you straight to the results : it will look like this -- this link will expire in a couple of days);
• once on the result page, click "Distance tree of results" : this will open another page, showing a tree built from the 100 sequences that match your query most closely.

Some branches may be collapsed in the tree as shown in the viewer, they can be expanded by right-clicking the tree and selecting "Expand all".
After doing this, you may have to zoom in the tree to see the sample IDs (you can klick the "TXT" button in the toolbar right above the tree viewer, this will get you a level of zooming that makes the text readable).
Alternatively, you can also download the tree by clicking "Tools" in the toolbar, then selecting "Download", and your preferred format.
I have attached what you get by selecting "PDF file".

(Beware some sequences in GenBank are misidentified, or chimeric; these will be included in the tree, which can have odd consequences.)

It's cool. now I will know, I hope

 

[Peter Kovalik]

Posso, S.R., and C.C. Salomão (2025) Osteology-based phylogeny and systematics implications of the genus Asio (Strigiformes, Strigidae). Zootaxa 5584: 394-408.
Osteology-based phylogeny and systematics implications of the genus Asio (Strigiformes, Strigidae) | Zootaxa

Abstract
We present the first phylogenetic analysis of Asio based on an osteological dataset comprising 35 characters (cranial and postcranial) from 36 specimens representing seven species. Parsimony analysis resulted in a single tree (50 steps, CI = 0.72, RI = 0.75): ((Asio otus ((Asio stygius (Asio clamator/Asio grammicus))) ((Asio solomonensis ((Asio capensis/Asio flammeus))))). This topology supports the previously proposed synonymization of Pseudoscops and Nesasio into Asio, based on molecular phylogenetic studies. The primary discrepancy between morphological and molecular datasets lies in the relationships among A. otus, A. grammicus, and A. clamator. Our results provide support (Bootstrap = 100, Bremer = 12, and 17 synapomorphies) for a sister relationship between A. grammicus and A. clamator. Conversely, molecular phylogenies suggest a closer relationship between A. clamator and A. otus. Additionally, we present the first phylogenetic placement of A. stygius, which our analysis identifies as most closely related to the A. grammicus/A. clamator clade (Bootstrap = 56, Bremer = 6, and eight synapomorphies). This finding aligns with the shared Neotropical distribution and we suggest A. grammicus likely evolved from an isolated ancient lineage shared with A. clamator. Significantly, the observed intraspecific osteological variation highlights the necessity for further taxonomic investigations to elucidate species diversity within Asio, particularly within the A. flammeus and A. clamator complexes.

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

Posso, S.R., and C.C. Salomão (2025) Osteology-based phylogeny and systematics implications of the genus Asio (Strigiformes, Strigidae). Zootaxa 5584: 394-408.
Osteology-based phylogeny and systematics implications of the genus Asio (Strigiformes, Strigidae) | Zootaxa

Abstract
We present the first phylogenetic analysis of Asio based on an osteological dataset comprising 35 characters (cranial and postcranial) from 36 specimens representing seven species. Parsimony analysis resulted in a single tree (50 steps, CI = 0.72, RI = 0.75): ((Asio otus ((Asio stygius (Asio clamator/Asio grammicus))) ((Asio solomonensis ((Asio capensis/Asio flammeus))))). This topology supports the previously proposed synonymization of Pseudoscops and Nesasio into Asio, based on molecular phylogenetic studies. The primary discrepancy between morphological and molecular datasets lies in the relationships among A. otus, A. grammicus, and A. clamator. Our results provide support (Bootstrap = 100, Bremer = 12, and 17 synapomorphies) for a sister relationship between A. grammicus and A. clamator. Conversely, molecular phylogenies suggest a closer relationship between A. clamator and A. otus. Additionally, we present the first phylogenetic placement of A. stygius, which our analysis identifies as most closely related to the A. grammicus/A. clamator clade (Bootstrap = 56, Bremer = 6, and eight synapomorphies). This finding aligns with the shared Neotropical distribution and we suggest A. grammicus likely evolved from an isolated ancient lineage shared with A. clamator. Significantly, the observed intraspecific osteological variation highlights the necessity for further taxonomic investigations to elucidate species diversity within Asio, particularly within the A. flammeus and A. clamator complexes.

Anyone?

 

[Peter Kovalik]

Mayr, G., Richter, A. and Racicot, R.A. (2025) The true identity of the strigiform species Ninox dubiosa Weick, 2006, with comments on a skull feature shared by the Ieraglaucinae and Surniinae. Journal of Ornithology 166: 609–613. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-024-02244-2

Abstract
We revisit the holotype of Ninox dubiosa Weick, 2006, and show the species to be a junior synonym of the White-throated Screech Owl, Megascops albogularis (Cassin, 1849). Micro-CT scans of the specimen reveal the absence of a dorsal process on the jugal bar, which precludes its assignment to the taxon Ninox. The presence of a temporal fenestra is shared with species of the taxon Megascops. We detail that the process of the jugal bar is likely to represent a synapomorphy of a clade formed by the Ieraglaucinae and Surniinae, and its absence in Aegolius challenges the current placement of this taxon within the clade.