| | Gruiformes - EvoWiki (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09) |
 | | Since the monophyly or polyphyly (realtedness or unrelatedness) of this "order" is not agreed upon by the professional community, it seems best to allow the advocates of the respective hypotheses to elaborate their own narratives to stand side by side for the consideration and comparison of the public community at large. |
 | | Sibley and Ahlquist (1990) argued that the basal divergence amongst gruiform birds was between suborders Grui, bracketing cranes and allies, and Ralli, including the diverse Rallidae and the Mesitornithidae. |
 | | The Psophiidae are the closest living relatives to the Cariamidae (Sibley and Ahlquist 1990, Mayr 2002), a hypothesis which has been advocated for some time (e.g., Gadow 1893) and has been corroborated by the fossil record of these birds (see A new gruiform from Messel). |
| wiki.cotch.net /index.php/Gruiformes (1540 words) |