Editing Apodiformes

{{short description|Order of birds}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| taxon = Apodiformes
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Late Paleocene|present}}
| image = Bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) immature male.jpg
| image_caption = A [[bee hummingbird]] (''Mellisuga helenae''), the smallest bird on earth.
| authority = [[James Lee Peters|Peters]], 1940
| subdivision_ranks = Families
| subdivision = * †Aegialornithidae
* †Cypselavidae
* †Eocypselidae
* †Jungornithidae
* [[Apodidae]]
* [[Hemiprocnidae]]
* [[Trochilidae]]
| range_map = Swift range.png
| range_map_caption = Worldwide range of the apodiformes.
| synonyms = * Trochiliformes <small>Wagler, 1830</small>
}}

The '''Apodiformes''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|p|ə|d|ᵻ|f|ɔr|m|iː|z}} is an [[Order (biology)|order]], or [[Taxonomy|taxonomic]] grouping, of [[Bird|birds]] which traditionally contained three living [[Family (biology)|families]]—the [[Swift (bird)|'''Apodidae''']] (swifts), the [[Treeswift|'''Hemiprocnidae''']] (treeswifts), and the [[Hummingbird|'''Trochilidae''']] (hummingbirds); however, in the [[Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy]], this order is elevated to the [[superorder]] '''Apodimorphae''', in which hummingbirds are separated into a new order, the '''[[Trochiliformes]]'''. With nearly 450 species identified to date, it is the most diverse order of birds after the [[passerine|'''Passeriformes''']] (the "perching" birds).

==Description, etymology and taxonomy==
As the name ''apodiforme''—meaning "footless" in [[Greek language|Greek]]—suggests, the legs of hummingbirds, swifts and treeswifts (or 'crested' swifts) are rather small and offer limited functional uses, aside from perching; their feet are covered with bare skin, rather than the [[Scute|scutes]] seen on many birds. Another commonality amongst Apodiformes is their [[Evolution|evolving]] longer [[Wing|wings]] with short and stout [[humerus]] bones,<ref>Hyman, Libbie Henrietta (1992). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=VKlWjdOkiMwC Hyman's Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy].''  Chicago: University of Chicago Press, page 39.  {{ISBN|0-226-87013-8}}</ref> a development which has provided the hummingbirds, in particular, with the ideal wings for [[Flying and gliding animals|hovering]].<ref name="mayr">Mayr, Gerald (2003): Phylogeny of early tertiary swifts and hummingbirds (Aves: Apodiformes). ''[[Auk (journal)|Auk]]'' 120(1): 145–151. {{doi|10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120[0145:POETSA]2.0.CO;2}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20060721204557/http://biology.georgefox.edu/~dpowers/Powers/HumPubs/GM_AUK120.pdf PDF fulltext]
</ref>

Together, the hummingbirds, swifts and treeswifts share several anatomical commonalities with their likely-closest extant relatives in the genus ''[[Owlet-nightjar|Aegotheles]]''—the owlet-nightjars; in particular, similarities are noted between the birds' [[skull]] structures.<ref>Mayr, Gerald (2002): Osteological evidence for paraphyly of the avian order Caprimulgiformes (nightjars and allies). ''Journal für Ornithologie'' '''143''': 82–97. [http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/abteilung/terrzool/ornithologie/caprimulgiformes.pdf PDF fulltext]</ref> 

The owlet-nightjars are, apparently, [[convergent evolution|convergent]] with the closely-related [[Caprimulgiformes]] (nightjars), which form a [[clade]] known as [[Cypselomorphae]]<!-- Condor107:342 --> together with the Apodiformes and the [[Frogmouth|frogmouths]], [[Oilbird|oilbirds]] and [[Potoo|potoos]].<ref name="mayr" />

==Evolution==
The Apodiformes evolved in the Northern Hemisphere. ''[[Eocypselus]]'', a primitive genus known from the Late [[Paleocene]] or Early [[Eocene]] of north-central Europe, is somewhat difficult to assign; it is considered a primitive hemiprocnid.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dyke |first1=Gareth J. |last2=Waterhouse |first2 = David M. |last3=Kristoffersen |first3=Anette M. |name-list-style=amp |date=October 2004 |title=Three new fossil landbirds from the early Paleogene of Denmark |journal=Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=77–85 |doi=10.37570/bgsd-2004-51-06 |url=https://2dgf.dk/xpdf/bull51-1-77-85.pdf}}</ref>  This would suggest that the major apodiform lineages diverged shortly after the [[Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary]]. However, the perching adaptation of the foot of ''Eocypselus'' on which this theory rests may just as well be a [[symplesiomorphy]].
Most researchers believe that presently this genus cannot be unequivocally assigned to either the Apodiformes or the Caprimulgiformes. 

The Early Eocene ''[[Primapus]]'', found in England, is similar to both a primitive swift and the [[aegialornithidae|aegialornithids]], which are in some aspects intermediate between swifts and owlet-nightjars. Fossil evidence demonstrates the existence of swifts during that period in [[Europe]]. At that time, most of Europe had a humid, subtropical climate, possibly comparable to modern-day southern China. For a map of Early–Middle Eocene Earth, see the Paleomap project;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scotese.com/newpage9.htm |title=During the Early Cenozoic India began to Collide with Asia |author=Christopher R. Scotese  |publisher=Paleomap project  |access-date=20 September 2010}}</ref> here note that both the [[Caucasus Mountains]] and the [[Alps]] did not exist yet and aegialornithids were possibly present in North America.<ref>Somewhat doubtful, as this is difficult to reconcile with the other aegialornithid fossils and ''Primapus''.</ref>
By the late Eocene (around 35 [[mya (unit)|MYA]]), primitive hummingbirds started to diverge from the related jungornithids; the Middle Eocene ''[[Parargornis]]'' ([[Messel pit|Messel]], Germany) and the Late Eocene ''[[Argornis]]'', found in today's southernmost [[Russia]], belong to this lineage. ''[[Cypselavus]]'' (Late Eocene – Early Oligocene of Quercy, France)<!-- Auk120:145 --> was either a primitive hemiprocnid or an aegialornithid.

The placement of the Aegialornithidae is not quite clear. Various analyses place them sufficiently close to the Apodiformes to be included here, or into the unique owlet-nightjar lineage in the Cypselomorphae.

==Taxonomy==
{{cladogram|title=Phylogeny of Apodiformes<ref>{{cite web| website=Mikko's Phylogeny Archive |last=Haaramo |first=Mikko |title=''Apodiformes – housemartins, hummingbirds, and relatives'' |url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/deuterostoma/chordata/archosauria/aves/strisores/apodiformes.html |access-date= 30 December 2017}}</ref>|
{{clade|style=font-size:90%;line-height:80%;width:250px
|1={{Clade
  |1=†[[Aegialornithidae]]
  |2={{Clade
    |label1=Apodi
    |1={{Clade
      |1=†''[[Laputavis]]''
      |2={{Clade
        |1=[[Hemiprocnidae]]
        |2={{Clade
          |1=†''[[Scaniacypselus]]''
          |2=[[Apodidae]]
           }}
         }}
       }}
    |label2=Trochili
    |2={{Clade
      |1=†[[Cypselavidae]]
      |2={{Clade
        |1=†[[Jungornithidae]]
        |2=[[Trochilidae]]
         }}
       }}
     }}
   }}
}}
}}
'''ORDER APODIFORMES'''
* '''Family''' †'''[[Aegialornithidae]]''' <small>Lydekker, 1891</small> [Primapinae <small>Harrison, 1984c</small>]
** Genus †''[[Primapus]]'' <small>Harrison & Walker, 1975</small>
** Genus †''[[Aegialornis]]'' <small>Lydekker, 1891</small>
* '''Suborder Apodi'''
** Genus †''[[Procypseloides]]'' <small>Harrison, 1984c</small>
** Genus †''[[Laputavis]]'' <small>Dyke, 2001b</small>
** Genus †''[[Scaniacypselus]]'' <small>Harrison, 1984</small>
** '''Family''' †'''[[Eocypselidae]]''' <small>Harrison 1984</small>
*** Genus †''[[Eocypselus]]'' <small>Harrison, 1984</small>[[File:Parargornis messelensis.JPG|thumb|''Parargornis messelensis'' fossil]]
** '''Family [[Hemiprocnidae]]''' <small>Oberholser, 1906</small> (treeswifts)
** '''Family [[Apodidae]]''' <small>Olphe-Galliard, 1887</small> (swifts)
* '''Suborder Trochili'''
** Genus †''[[Palescyvus]]'' <small>Karchu, 1988</small>
** '''Family''' †'''[[Cypselavidae]]''' <small>Mourer-Chauviré, 2006</small>
*** Genus †''[[Argornis]]'' <small>Karchu, 1999</small>
*** Genus †''[[Cypselavus]]'' <small>Gaillard, 1908</small>
*** Genus †''[[Parargornis]]'' <small>Mayr, 2003</small>
** '''Family''' †'''[[Jungornithidae]]''' <small>Karchu, 1988</small>
*** Genus †''[[Jungornis]]'' <small>Karchu, 1988</small>
** '''Family [[Trochilidae]]''' <small>Vigors, 1825</small> (hummingbirds)

==See also==
* [[List of Apodiformes by population]]

==References==<!-- ActaZoolBulg52:43. BiolJLinnSoc77:211. -->
{{Reflist}}

{{Birds}}
{{Strisores|A.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q25950}}
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[[Category:Apodiformes| ]]
[[Category:Bird orders]]
[[Category:Extant Paleocene first appearances]]
[[Category:Paleocene taxonomic orders]]
[[Category:Eocene taxonomic orders]]
[[Category:Oligocene taxonomic orders]]
[[Category:Miocene taxonomic orders]]
[[Category:Pliocene taxonomic orders]]
[[Category:Pleistocene taxonomic orders]]
[[Category:Holocene taxonomic orders]]
[[Category:Taxa named by James L. Peters]]