Post by Eaglehawk on Jun 25, 2019 8:08:19 GMT
Australian Masked Owl - Tyto novaehollandiae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Tytonidae
Genus: Tyto
Species: Tyto novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826)
The Australian masked owl (Tyto novaehollandiae) is a barn owl of Southern New Guinea and the non-desert areas of Australia.
Taxonomy
Described subspecies of Tyto novaehollandiae include:
[*]T. n. castanops (Gould, 1837), Tasmanian Masked Owl (Tasmania and introduced to Lord Howe Island)
[*]T. n. sororcula (Sclater, 1883), Moluccan Masked Owl, (south Moluccas of Indonesia)
[*]T. n. manusi (Rothschild & Hartert, 1914), Manus Masked Owl, (Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands)
[*]T. n. novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826), (southern mainland Australia)
[/ul]
Description
Brown feathers surround a white, heart-shaped mask. Their dorsal plumage is brown, aside from light gray spots on the upper back. Their front is white with brown spots. Their eye color varies from black to dark brown. Females are darker shaded and larger than males.
Male masked owls' weights ranges from 420-800 g, while females are typically much larger ranging from 545-1260 g. Length ranges between 330–410 mm for males and 390–500 mm for females. Wing span is up to 1280 mm for southern female masked owls. Masked owls follow the typical pattern of birds from the tropics being much smaller than birds from temperate regions. In this instance, Tasmanian masked owls are the largest.
Naming
Alternate common names have been used for this species in the past. For example: Mouse-Owl – This was a name given to the species by Latham in 1821. It is thought to be due to its habit of catching mice at homesteads.
Habitat
The Australian masked owl inhabits timbered areas, often with a shrub understorey. In Australia they are seldom found more than 300 km inland. They roost and nest in large tree hollows near foraging areas. They are nocturnal and their prey includes rodents, small dasyurids, possums, bandicoots, rabbits, bats, birds, reptiles and insects. Foraging is primarily for terrestrial prey, however some prey is taken from the trees or in flight. The population of the Australian masked owl on the mainland is declining and several states have this owl on the Species Conservation Status list. They are territorial and may remain in the same area once they have established a breeding territory.
Reproduction
They breed when conditions are favorable which can be any time of the year. The nest is usually built in hollow trees with soil, mulch or sand. Some populations are known to use underground caves or rock crevices for nesting and roosting. The female lays two or three eggs and incubates them while the male hunts for food. The young are white or off white when they first develop feathers. They can leave the nest at two to three months of age but return to be fed by the parents for another month before going on their own.
Conservation status
The population of the Australian masked owl on the mainland is declining and several states have placed this owl on the Species Conservation Status list.
In Victoria (Australia), the masked owl is a listed threatened bird, and an Action Statement has been prepared under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. In New South Wales, the masked owl is scheduled as Vulnerable under the Threatened Species Conservation Act (1995).
Journal Reference:
Vera Uva, Martin Päckert, Alice Cibois, Luca Fumagalli and Alexandre Roulin. 2018. Comprehensive Molecular Phylogeny of Barn Owls and Relatives (Family: Tytonidae), and Their Six Major Pleistocene Radiations. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 125; 127-137. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.03.013
Highlights
• Tytonidae originated in the Oligocene (ca. 28 mya) of Australasia.
• Tytonidae underwent six trans-continental radiations in the Pleistocene.
• Split of Tyto alba into three species (T. alba, T. furcata, T. javanica) is supported.
• T. rosenbergii and T. nigrobrunnea are subspecies of T. javanica; T. sororcula and T. manusi are subspecies of T. novaehollandiae.
• Grass owls and sooty owls are a single species each (T. capensis and T. tenebricosa).
Abstract
The owl family Tytonidae comprises two genera: Phodilus, limited to the forests of central Africa and South-East Asia, and the ubiquitous Tyto. The genus Tyto is majorly represented by the cosmopolitan Common Barn Owl group, with more than 30 subspecies worldwide. Discrete differences in body size and plumage colouration have led to the classification of this family into many species and subspecies, but the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships between taxa remain unclear, and in some groups controversial. Although several previous studies attempted to resolve this problem, they have been limited in their taxonomic and geographical coverage, or have relied on restricted molecular evidence and low sample sizes. Based on the most comprehensive sampling to date (16 out of 17 Tyto species, and one out of three Phodilus species), a multi-locus approach using seven mitochondrial and two nuclear markers, and taking advantage of field data and museum collections available worldwide, our main questions in this study were: (1) what are the phylogenetic relationships and classification status of the whole family; (2) when and where did the most important speciation events occur? We confirm that the Common Barn Owl, Tyto alba is divided into three main evolutionary units: the American Barn Owl, T. furcata; the Western Barn Owl, T. alba; and the Eastern Barn Owl, T. javanica, and suggest a Late Miocene (ca. 6 mya) Australasian and African origin of the group. Our results are supported by fossil age information, given that the most recent common ancestor between the Tytonidae genera Phodilus and Tyto was probably from the Oligocene (ca. 28 mya) of Australasia. We finally reveal six major Pleistocene radiations of Tyto, all resulting in wide-range distributions.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790317306115?via%3Dihub
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Tytonidae
Genus: Tyto
Species: Tyto novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826)
The Australian masked owl (Tyto novaehollandiae) is a barn owl of Southern New Guinea and the non-desert areas of Australia.
Taxonomy
Described subspecies of Tyto novaehollandiae include:
[*]T. n. castanops (Gould, 1837), Tasmanian Masked Owl (Tasmania and introduced to Lord Howe Island)
[*]T. n. sororcula (Sclater, 1883), Moluccan Masked Owl, (south Moluccas of Indonesia)
[*]T. n. manusi (Rothschild & Hartert, 1914), Manus Masked Owl, (Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands)
[*]T. n. novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826), (southern mainland Australia)
[/ul]
Description
Brown feathers surround a white, heart-shaped mask. Their dorsal plumage is brown, aside from light gray spots on the upper back. Their front is white with brown spots. Their eye color varies from black to dark brown. Females are darker shaded and larger than males.
Male masked owls' weights ranges from 420-800 g, while females are typically much larger ranging from 545-1260 g. Length ranges between 330–410 mm for males and 390–500 mm for females. Wing span is up to 1280 mm for southern female masked owls. Masked owls follow the typical pattern of birds from the tropics being much smaller than birds from temperate regions. In this instance, Tasmanian masked owls are the largest.
Naming
Alternate common names have been used for this species in the past. For example: Mouse-Owl – This was a name given to the species by Latham in 1821. It is thought to be due to its habit of catching mice at homesteads.
Habitat
The Australian masked owl inhabits timbered areas, often with a shrub understorey. In Australia they are seldom found more than 300 km inland. They roost and nest in large tree hollows near foraging areas. They are nocturnal and their prey includes rodents, small dasyurids, possums, bandicoots, rabbits, bats, birds, reptiles and insects. Foraging is primarily for terrestrial prey, however some prey is taken from the trees or in flight. The population of the Australian masked owl on the mainland is declining and several states have this owl on the Species Conservation Status list. They are territorial and may remain in the same area once they have established a breeding territory.
Reproduction
They breed when conditions are favorable which can be any time of the year. The nest is usually built in hollow trees with soil, mulch or sand. Some populations are known to use underground caves or rock crevices for nesting and roosting. The female lays two or three eggs and incubates them while the male hunts for food. The young are white or off white when they first develop feathers. They can leave the nest at two to three months of age but return to be fed by the parents for another month before going on their own.
Conservation status
The population of the Australian masked owl on the mainland is declining and several states have placed this owl on the Species Conservation Status list.
In Victoria (Australia), the masked owl is a listed threatened bird, and an Action Statement has been prepared under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. In New South Wales, the masked owl is scheduled as Vulnerable under the Threatened Species Conservation Act (1995).
Journal Reference:
Vera Uva, Martin Päckert, Alice Cibois, Luca Fumagalli and Alexandre Roulin. 2018. Comprehensive Molecular Phylogeny of Barn Owls and Relatives (Family: Tytonidae), and Their Six Major Pleistocene Radiations. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 125; 127-137. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.03.013
Highlights
• Tytonidae originated in the Oligocene (ca. 28 mya) of Australasia.
• Tytonidae underwent six trans-continental radiations in the Pleistocene.
• Split of Tyto alba into three species (T. alba, T. furcata, T. javanica) is supported.
• T. rosenbergii and T. nigrobrunnea are subspecies of T. javanica; T. sororcula and T. manusi are subspecies of T. novaehollandiae.
• Grass owls and sooty owls are a single species each (T. capensis and T. tenebricosa).
Abstract
The owl family Tytonidae comprises two genera: Phodilus, limited to the forests of central Africa and South-East Asia, and the ubiquitous Tyto. The genus Tyto is majorly represented by the cosmopolitan Common Barn Owl group, with more than 30 subspecies worldwide. Discrete differences in body size and plumage colouration have led to the classification of this family into many species and subspecies, but the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships between taxa remain unclear, and in some groups controversial. Although several previous studies attempted to resolve this problem, they have been limited in their taxonomic and geographical coverage, or have relied on restricted molecular evidence and low sample sizes. Based on the most comprehensive sampling to date (16 out of 17 Tyto species, and one out of three Phodilus species), a multi-locus approach using seven mitochondrial and two nuclear markers, and taking advantage of field data and museum collections available worldwide, our main questions in this study were: (1) what are the phylogenetic relationships and classification status of the whole family; (2) when and where did the most important speciation events occur? We confirm that the Common Barn Owl, Tyto alba is divided into three main evolutionary units: the American Barn Owl, T. furcata; the Western Barn Owl, T. alba; and the Eastern Barn Owl, T. javanica, and suggest a Late Miocene (ca. 6 mya) Australasian and African origin of the group. Our results are supported by fossil age information, given that the most recent common ancestor between the Tytonidae genera Phodilus and Tyto was probably from the Oligocene (ca. 28 mya) of Australasia. We finally reveal six major Pleistocene radiations of Tyto, all resulting in wide-range distributions.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790317306115?via%3Dihub