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Athene (bird)

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For the Greek goddess, see Athena.

Athene
Temporal range: Late Miocene to recent
Little owl, Athene noctua
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Athene
F. Boie, 1822
Type species
Strix noctua
Scopoli, 1769
Species
Synonyms
  • Heteroglaux
  • Speotyto
  • Spheotyto (lapsus)

Athene is a genus of owls, containing nine living species, depending on classification. These birds are small, with brown and white speckles, yellow eyes, and white eyebrows. This genus is found on all continents except for Australia, Antarctica, and Sub-Saharan Africa. An evolutionary radiation of 4 species (formerly thought to be in the genus Ninox) is also present in the Solomon Islands.

Taxonomy and list of species

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The genus Athene was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1822.[1] The type species was designated as the little owl (Athene noctua) by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1841.[2][3] The genus name is from the little owl which was closely associated with the Greek goddess Athena, and often depicted with her. Her original role as a goddess of the night might explain the link to an owl.[4]

The genus contains the following nine species.[5]

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Athene noctua Little owl Europe, Asia east to Korea and North Africa
Athene brama Spotted owlet tropical Asia from mainland India to Southeast Asia
Athene cunicularia Burrowing owl North and South America
Athene superciliaris White-browed owl Madagascar
Athene blewitti Forest owlet central India
Athene jacquinoti West Solomons owl western Solomon Islands
Athene granti[6] Guadalcanal owl Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands
Athene malaitae[6] Malaita owl Malaita Island, Solomon Islands
Athene roseoaxillaris[6] Makira owl Bauro and Makira Islands, Solomon Islands

The forest owlet was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Heteroglaux, and the Solomon Islands radiation was formerly placed in the genus Ninox with the other owls referred to as "boobooks" until taxonomic studies found them to group in Athene.

Extinct species and subspecies

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Cretan owl with Candiacervus ropalophorus

A number of mainly island representatives of this genus are only known from fossil or subfossil remains:

  • Athene megalopeza (fossil; Rexroad Late Pliocene of west-central U.S.)—sometimes placed in Speotyto
  • Athene veta (fossil; Early Pleistocene of Rebielice, Poland)
  • Athene angelis (fossil; Middle–Late Pleistocene of Castiglione, Corsica)
  • Athene trinacriae (Pleistocene)
  • Athene cf. cunicularia (fossil; Pleistocene of Barbuda, West Indies)—sometimes placed in Speotyto
  • Athene cf. cunicularia (fossil; Pleistocene of the Cayman Islands, West Indies)—sometimes placed in Speotyto
  • Athene cf. cunicularia (fossil; Pleistocene of Jamaica, West Indies)—sometimes placed in Speotyto
  • Athene cf. cunicularia (fossil; Pleistocene of Mona Island, West Indies)—sometimes placed in Speotyto
  • Athene cf. cunicularia (fossil; Pleistocene of Puerto Rico, West Indies)—sometimes placed in Speotyto
  • Cretan owl (Athene cretensis) (prehistoric; Crete, Mediterranean)

The Cretan owl was a flightless or near-flightless form that was more than 50 cm (almost 2 ft) tall. It went extinct soon after the island of Crete became inhabited by humans.

Late Miocene (about 11 mya) fossil remains from Rudabánya (NE Hungary) have been tentatively assigned to this genus.[7] Considering the known fossil range of Athene and the misassignments of many Miocene strigids from Europe, it may be a basal member of the present genus or not belong here at all. The supposed species "Athene" murivora was the name given to subfossil bones of male Rodrigues scops owls.

    • Antiguan burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia amaura)—extinct (c. 1905)
    • Guadeloupe burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia guadeloupensis)—extinct (c. 1890)

References

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  1. ^ Boie, Friedrich (1822). "Ueber Classification, insonderheit der europäischen Vogel". Isis von Oken (in German). 1822. Cols 545–564 [549].
  2. ^ Gray, George Robert (1841). A List of the Genera of Birds : with their Synonyma and an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus (2nd ed.). London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 7.
  3. ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1940). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 4. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 147.
  4. ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 58, 274. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Owls". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "Species Updates—IOC World Bird List". Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  7. ^ Bernor, R.L.; Kordos, L. & Rook, L. (eds): "Recent Advances on Multidisciplinary Research at Rudabánya, Late Miocene (MN9), Hungary: A compendium. Archived 2007-06-28 at the Wayback Machine" Paleontographica Italiana 89: 3-36.
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