Fowl 140951 224942558 2008-07-11T03:01:30Z Steven Walling 1957748 rv to version without joke taxobox image {{Wiktionarypar|fowl}} {{otheruses}} {{Taxobox | name = Galloanserans | fossil_range = [[Campanian]] - Recent | image = Rooster2.jpg | image_width = 240px | image_caption = [[Chicken]]s are a well-known member of this ancient [[clade]] | regnum = [[Animalia]] | phylum = [[Chordata]] | classis = [[Aves]] | subclassis = [[Neornithes]] | infraclassis = [[Neognathae]] | superordo= '''Galloanserae''' | superordo_authority = Sibley, Ahlquist & Monroe, 1988 | subdivision_ranks = [[Order (biology)|Order]]s | subdivision = [[Anseriformes]]<br /> [[Galliformes]]<br /> and see text | synonyms = Galloanseri }} Most or all [[bird]]s collectively referred to as '''fowl''' belong to one of two [[order (biology)|order]]s, namely the gamefowl or landfowl ([[Galliformes]]) and the waterfowl ([[Anseriformes]]). Interestingly, studies of anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups were close [[evolution]]ary relatives; together, they form the fowl [[clade]] which is scientifically known as '''Galloanserae''' (initially termed Galloanseri)<ref>Sibley ''et al.'' (1988)</ref>. This clade is also supported by morphological and [[DNA sequence]] data<ref>Chubb (2004)</ref> as well as [[retrotransposon]] [[Retrotransposon Marker|presence/absence data]]<ref>Kriegs ''et al.'' (2007)</ref>. ==Terminology== As opposed to "fowl", "[[poultry]]", on the other hand, is a term for any kind of [[domesticated]] bird or bird captive-raised for meat or eggs; [[ostrich]]es for example are sometimes kept as poultry, but are neither gamefowl nor waterfowl. In colloquial speech, the term "fowl" is however often used near-synonymously with "poultry" or even "bird", and many languages do not distinguish between "poultry" and "fowl". Nonetheless, the fact that Galliformes and Anseriformes most likely form a [[monophyletic]] group makes a distinction between "fowl" and "poultry" warranted. Many birds that are eaten by humans are fowl, including [[poultry]] such as [[chicken]]s or [[turkey (bird)|turkey]]s, [[game bird]]s such as [[pheasant]]s or [[partridge]]s, other wildfowl like [[guineafowl]] or [[peafowl]], and [[waterfowl]] such as [[duck]]s or [[geese]]. ==Characteristics== [[Image:guinea-hybrids.jpg|right|thumb|Domestic fowl x Guineafowl hybrid (left) and guineafowl x peafowl hybrid (right), Rothschild Museum (Tring)]] While they are extremely diverse [[ecological]]ly and consequently, in an adaptation to their different lifestyles, also [[morphology (biology)|morphologically]] and [[ethological]]ly, there are still some features which unite water- and landfowl. Many of these, however, are [[plesiomorph]]ic for [[Neornithes]] as a whole, and are also shared with [[paleognath]]s. * Galloanseraem are very prolific; they regularly produce [[clutch (eggs)|clutch]]es of more than 5 or even more than 10 eggs, which is a lot for such sizeable birds (for example [[birds of prey]] and [[pigeon]]s rarely lay more than two eggs). * While most living birds are [[monogamous]], at least for a breeding season, many Galloanserae are notoriously [[polygynous]] or [[polygamous]]. To [[ornithologist]]s, this is particularly well-known in [[dabbling duck]]s, where the males literally band together occasionally to "[[gang rape]]" unwilling females. The general public is probably most familiar with the polygynous habits of [[domestic chicken]], where usually one or two [[rooster]]s are kept with a whole flock of females. * [[Hybrid]]ization is extremely frequent in Galloanserae, and [[genera]], not usually known to produce viable hybrids in birds, can be brought to interbreed with comparative ease. [[Guineafowl]] have successfully produced hybrids with domestic fowl and [[Blue Peafowl]], to which are not particularly closely related as [[Galliformes]] go. This is an important factor complicating [[mtDNA]] [[DNA sequence|sequence]]-based research on their relationships. The [[Mallard]]s of [[North America]], for example, are apparently mostly derived from some males which arrived from [[Siberia]], settled down, and mated with [[American Black Duck]] ancestors<ref>Kulikova ''et al.'' (2005)</ref>. ''See also'' [[Gamebird hybrids]]. * Galloanserae young are remarkably [[precocious]]. Anseriform young are able to swim and dive a few hours after hatching, and the hatchlings of [[Megapodidae|mound-builders]] are fully feathered and even able to fly for prolonged distances as soon as they emerge from the nest mound. ==Systematics and evolution== Fowl were the first [[neognath]] lineages to evolve. From the limited [[fossil]]s that have to date been recovered, the conclusion that they were already widespread - indeed the predominant group of modern birds - by end of the [[Cretaceous]] is generally accepted nowadays. Fossils such as ''[[Vegavis]]'' indicate that essentially modern waterfowl - albeit belonging to a nowadays [[extinct]] lineage - were contemporaries of the (non-avian) [[dinosaur]]s. As opposed to the [[Morphology (biology)|morphologically]] fairly conservative Galliformes, the Anseriformes have adapted to filter-feeding and are characterized by a large number of [[autapomorph]]ies related to this lifestyle. The extremely advanced feeding systems of the Anseriformes, together with similarities of the early anseriform ''[[Presbyornis]]'' to [[shorebird]]s, had formerly prompted some scientists to ally Anseriformes with [[Charadriiformes]] instead<ref>Benson (1999), Feduccia (1999)</ref> (''see also'' "[[Graculavidae]]")<ref>EvoWiki (2008)</ref>. However, as strong support for the Galloanserae has emerged in subsequent studies, the fowl clade continues to be accepted as a genuine evolutionary lineage by the vast majority of scientists. Apart from the living members, the [[Gastornithiformes]] are probably a [[prehistoric]] member of the Galloanserae. ==Footnotes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{aut|Benson, D.}} (1999): ''Presbyornis isoni'' and other late Paleocene birds from North Dakota. ''Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology'' '''89''': 253-266. * {{aut|Chubb, A.}} (2004): New nuclear evidence for the oldest divergence among neognath birds: the phylogenetic utility of ZENK(i). ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' '''30''': 140-151 * {{aut|[[EvoWiki]]}} (2008): [http://wiki.cotch.net/index.php/Galloanserae:_A_Critical_Examination Galloanserae: A Critical Examination]. Version of 2008-MAY-21. Retrieved 2008-JUN-15. * {{aut|Feduccia, A.}} (1999): ''The Origin and Evolution of Birds, Second Edition''. Yale University Press, New Haven. * {{aut|Kriegs, Jan Ole; Matzke, Andreas; Churakov, Gennady; Kuritzin, Andrej; Mayr, Gerald; Brosius, Jürgen & Schmitz, Jürgen}} (2007): Waves of genomic hitchhikers shed light on the evolution of gamebirds (Aves: Galliformes). ''BMC Evolutionary Biology'' '''7''': 190 ([http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/7/190/ Fulltext]). * {{aut|Kulikova, Irina V.; Drovetski, S.V.; Gibson, D.D.; Harrigan, R.J.; Rohwer, S.; Sorenson, Michael D.; Winker, K.; Zhuravlev, Yury N. & McCracken, Kevin G.}} (2005): Phylogeography of the Mallard (''Anas platyrhynchos''): Hybridization, dispersal, and lineage sorting contribute to complex geographic structure. ''[[Auk (journal)|Auk]]'' 122 (3): 949-965. [English with Russian abstract] <small>[[Digital Object Identifier|DOI]]: 10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[0949:POTMAP]2.0.CO;2</small> [http://mercury.bio.uaf.edu/~kevin_mccracken/reprints/auk-122-949.pdf PDF fulltext]. Erratum: ''Auk'' 122 (4): 1309. <small>[[Digital Object Identifier|DOI]]: 10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[0949:POTMAP]2.0.CO;2</small> * {{aut|Sibley, C.G.; Ahlquist, J.E. & Monroe, B.L.}} (1988): A classification of the living birds of the world based on DNA-DNA hybridization studies. ''Auk'' '''105''': 409-423. <!-- note that many languages do not distinguish between "fowl" and "poultry" --> [[Category:Galloanserae|*]] [[de:Geflügel]] [[fr:Galloanserae]] [[id:Unggas]] [[ja:キジカモ小綱 (Sibley)]] [[nrm:Volâle]] [[simple:Fowl]]