Mohoidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Corvida
Superfamilia: Meliphagoidea

Familia: Mohoidae
Genera: †Chaetoptila – †Moho
Name

Mohoidae Fleischer, James & Olson, 2008

Typus: Moho Lesson, 1830

References

Fleischer R.C., James H.F. & Olson S.L. 2008. Convergent Evolution of Hawaiian and Australo-Pacific Honeyeaters from Distant Songbird Ancestors. Current Biology 18(24): 1927–1931. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.10.051 Open access Reference page.

Mohoidae, also known as the Hawaiian honeyeaters, was a family of Hawaiian species of now recently extinct, nectarivorous songbirds in the genera Moho (ʻōʻō) and Chaetoptila (kioea). These now extinct birds form their own family, representing the only complete extinction of an entire avian family in modern times,[1] when the disputed family Turnagridae is regarded as invalid. The last surviving species in the family, the Kauai O'o (Moho braccatus), became extinct after 1987.
Taxonomy

Until recently, these birds were thought to belong to the family Meliphagidae (honeyeaters) due to their very similar appearance and behavior, including many morphological details. However, a 2008 study argued, on the basis of a phylogenetic analysis of DNA from museum specimens, that the genera Moho and Chaetoptila are not even closely related to the Meliphagidae but instead belong to a group within the Passerida that includes the waxwings and the palmchat; they appear especially close to the silky-flycatchers. Hawaiian honeyeaters did not evolve from the similar looking Australasian honeyeaters, but instead represent a striking case of convergent evolution.[1] The authors proposed a family, Mohoidae, for these two extinct genera.[2]

Phylogenetic evidence from a 2019 taxonomic study supports the Mohoidae having an early Miocene origin, having originated 15-20 million years ago, and being the sister group to the family Hypocoliidae, which contains only the grey hypocolius (Hypocolius ampelinus), with the clade containing Mohoidae and Hypocoliidae being sister to the hylocitrea of Hylocitreidae, which diverged from them slightly earlier in the Miocene.[3] This makes them much older than the other major radiation of endemic Hawaiian birds, the Hawaiian honeycreepers (a clade within Fringillidae), which originated much later in the Miocene, around 7 million years ago.[4]
Species

Family: Mohoidae

†Chaetoptila P.L. Sclater, 1871
†Chaetoptila angustipluma Peale, 1848 (Kioea)
†Chaetoptila cf.angustipluma (Oahu kioea - extinct before European contact)
?Chaetoptila sp. (Narrow-billed kioea - extinct before European contact)
†Moho Lesson, 1830 - ʻōʻō
†Moho apicalis Gould, 1860 – Oʻahu ʻōʻō
†Moho bishopi Rothschild, 1893 – Bishop's ʻōʻō
†Moho braccatus Cassin, 1855 – Kauaʻi ʻōʻō
†Moho nobilis Merrem, 1786 – Hawaiʻi ʻōʻō

References

Lovette, Irby J. (2008). "Convergent Evolution: Raising a Family from the Dead". Current Biology. 18 (24): R1132–4. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.11.006. PMID 19108768.
Fleischer, Robert C.; James, Helen F.; Olson, Storrs L. (2008). "Convergent Evolution of Hawaiian and Australo-Pacific Honeyeaters from Distant Songbird Ancestors". Current Biology. 18 (24): 1927–31. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.10.051. PMID 19084408.
Oliveros, Carl H.; Field, Daniel J.; Ksepka, Daniel T.; Barker, F. Keith; Aleixo, Alexandre; Andersen, Michael J.; Alström, Per; Benz, Brett W.; Braun, Edward L.; Braun, Michael J.; Bravo, Gustavo A. (2019-04-16). "Earth history and the passerine superradiation". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116 (16): 7916–7925. Bibcode:2019PNAS..116.7916O. doi:10.1073/pnas.1813206116. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 6475423. PMID 30936315.
Lerner, Heather R.L.; Meyer, Matthias; James, Helen F.; Hofreiter, Michael; Fleischer, Robert C. (2011-11-08). "Multilocus Resolution of Phylogeny and Timescale in the Extant Adaptive Radiation of Hawaiian Honeycreepers". Current Biology. 21 (21): 1838–1844. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.09.039. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 22018543.