Higher phylogeny

In birds, long recognised higher-level clades are treated as orders that are recognised by the ending -iformes. However, the number of orders is not defined and may vary from author to author. 

Order-level timetree of extant Aves according to Wu et al. (2024, with divergence times being given in supporting information, dataset S02). Crown-group ages, indicated by blue lines, were derived from Kuhl et al. (2021, fig.3). Note that most divergence times are considerably older than those of other authors (e.g. Brocklehurst & Field, 2024). In sharp contrast, divergence times of Aequornithes (embracing six orders from Gaviiformes to Pelecaniformes) are considerably younger than those of other authors. 

Unranked order-level classification of extant Aves according to Sangster et al. (2022) and Wu et al. (2024). [Note that the first author of the latter paper, Shaoyuan Wu, confirmed that Litusilvanae, not Litusilvae, was the intended name for the clade uniting Strisores and Gruiformes/Charadriiformes]

References

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