Tyto
Encyclopedia
The genus
Tyto includes all barn owl
s (family
Tytonidae) except for the bay owl
s (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. 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 (τυτο) is onomatopeic Greek for owl.
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.
- of barn owls are:
s
Late prehistoric extinctions
Usually known from subfossil
remains.
Melanesia
:
Caribbean
:
Mediterranean:
between true 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
has been misapplied by many early scientists as a "wastebin taxon
" for many owls including Tyto.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Tyto includes all barn owl
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
s (family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Tytonidae) except for the bay owl
Bay Owl
The bay owls are barn owls of the genus Phodilus, subfamily Phodilinae. Most classification schemes recognize two species in this genus: the Oriental Bay Owl and the Congo Bay Owl ....
s (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. 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 (τυτο) is onomatopeic Greek for owl.
Throughout their evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
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 crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
were very large or truly gigantic species.
Systematics
Living and recently extinct species - and some notable subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
- of barn owls are:
- Sooty Owl Tyto tenebricosa
- Lesser Sooty Owl Tyto multipunctata
- Australian Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae
- Tasmanian Masked OwlTasmanian Masked OwlThe Tasmanian Masked Owl is a bird in the barn-owl family Tytonidae that is endemic to the island state of Tasmania, Australia. It is the largest subspecies of the Australian Masked Owl, the largest Tyto owl in the world, and is sometimes considered a full species...
Tyto (novaehollandiae) castanopsis
- Tasmanian Masked Owl
- Golden Masked Owl Tyto aurantia
- Moluccan Masked Owl Tyto sororcula
- Buru Masked Owl Tyto (sororcula) cayelii - possibly extinct (mid-20th century?)
- Manus Masked OwlManus Masked OwlThe Manus Masked Owl is a barn owl endemic to Manus Island in Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea. Some authors consider it a subspecies of Australian Masked Owl ....
Tyto manusi - Taliabu Masked Owl Tyto nigrobrunnea
- Minahassa Masked Owl Tyto inexspectata
- Sulawesi OwlSulawesi OwlThe Sulawesi Masked Owl is a species of owl in the Tytonidae family. It is endemic to Indonesia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24 July 2007....
or Sulawesi Masked-owl, Tyto rosenbergii- Peleng Masked Owl Tyto rosenbergii pelengensis - probably extinct (mid-20th century)
- Barn OwlBarn OwlThe Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
or Common Barn Owl, Tyto alba- Eastern Barn Owl Tyto (alba) delicatula
- Andaman Masked Owl or Andaman Barn Owl Tyto (alba) deroepstorffi
- Ashy-faced OwlAshy-faced OwlThe 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.- References :* BirdLife International...
Tyto glaucops - Madagascar Red OwlMadagascar Red OwlThe 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. It is a rare resident of Madagascar that was virtually unknown from its discovery in 1878 to its rediscovery by researchers from the World Wide Fund...
Tyto soumagnei - African Grass Owl Tyto capensis
- Eastern Grass Owl Tyto longimembris
Early prehistoric extinctions
Known from ancient fossilFossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s
- Tyto sanctialbani (Middle - Late Miocene of C Europe) - formerly in StrixStrix (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 . Common names are earless owls or wood owls though they are not the only owls without ear tufts, and "wood owl" is also used as a...
, includes T. campiterrae - Tyto robustaTyto robustaTyto 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. The owl's remains date back to the Miocene-Pliocene boundary 5.5 to 5 million years ago. The fossil bones are about 60% as long...
(Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Gargano Peninsula, Italy)- Tyto (robusta) giganteaTyto giganteaTyto 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 (robusta) gigantea
- 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 extinctionsLate Quaternary prehistoric birdsPrehistoric birds are various taxa of birds that became extinct before recorded history, or more precisely, before they could be studied alive by bird scientists...
Usually known from subfossilSubfossil
Subfossil refers to remains whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the conditions in which they were buried were not optimal for fossilization....
remains.
Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately 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
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
:
- 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 StrixStrix (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 . Common names are earless owls or wood owls though they are not the only owls without ear tufts, and "wood owl" is also used as a...
, 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 osteologyOsteology
Osteology is the scientific study of bones. A subdiscipline of anatomy, 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 development of a similar trait in related, but distinct, species descending from the same ancestor, but from different clades.-Parallel vs...
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 . Common names are earless owls or wood owls though they are not the only owls without ear tufts, and "wood owl" is also used as a...
has been misapplied by many early scientists as a "wastebin taxon
Wastebin taxon
Wastebasket taxon is a term used in some taxonomic circles to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined by their lack of one or more distinct character states or by their not belonging to one or more other taxa...
" 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 taxonTaxon|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
might be a nomen nudumNomen nudumThe phrase nomen nudum is a Latin term, meaning "naked name", used in taxonomy...
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 NinoxNinoxNinox is a genus of owls comprising about 20 species found in Asia and Australasia. Many species are known as hawk owls or boobooks...
-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 tarsometatarsusTarsometatarsusThe 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 tarsal and metatarsal 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.