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Caprimulgidae

Nightjars

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taxon links [up-->]Macrodipteryx [up-->]Chordeiles [up-->]Hydropsalis [up-->]Lurocalis [up-->]Nyctiphrynus [up-->]Uropsalis [up-->]Nyctiprogne [up-->]Eurostopodus [up-->]Nyctidromus albicollis [up-->]Caprimulgus [up-->]Podager nacunda Not Monophyletic[down<--]Caprimulgiformes Interpreting the tree
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The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.

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Relationships after Barrowclough et al. 2006 and Larsen et al. 2007.

Containing group: Caprimulgiformes

Other Names for Caprimulgidae

References

Barrowclough, G. F., J. G. Groth and L. A. Mertz. 2006. The RAG-1 exon in the avian order Caprimulgiformes: Phylogeny, heterozygosity, and base composition. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 41:238-248.

Cleere, N. 1998. Nightjars: A Guide to the Nightjars, Nighthawks, and Their Relatives. Yale University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.

Larsen, C., M. Speed, N. Harvey and H. A. Noyes. 2007. A molecular phylogeny of the nightjars (Aves: Caprimulgidae) suggests extensive conservation of primitive morphological traits across multiple lineages. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 42:789-796.

Mariaux, J. and M. J. Braun. 1996. A molecular phylogenetic survey of the nightjars and allies (Caprimulgiformes) with special emphasis on the potoos (Nyctibiidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 6(2):228-244.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Caprimulgus pectoralis
Location Okavango Delta, Botswana
Comments Fierynecked Nightjar
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Behavior on low branch after nightfall
Copyright © 1990 Greg and Marybeth Dimijian
Scientific Name Nyctidromus albicollis
Location Chapada do Araripe - CE, Brazil
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Source Curiango - Nyctidromus albicollis - Pauraque
Source Collection Flickr
Copyright © 2005 Ciro Albano
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Page: Tree of Life Caprimulgidae. Nightjars. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Tree of Life Web Project. 2007. Caprimulgidae. Nightjars. Version 04 June 2007 (temporary). http://tolweb.org/Caprimulgidae/26398/2007.06.04 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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Each ToL branch page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a branch of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a branch and a leaf of the Tree of Life is that each branch can be further subdivided into descendent branches, that is, subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

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