Mirandornithes

Mirandornithes
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Infraclass:	Neognathae
(unranked):	Mirandornithes Chubb, 2004
Orders
Podicipediformes Phoenicopteriformes

Mirandornithes (name coined by Sangster (2005))^[1] is a clade that consists of flamingos and grebes. The relationships of both groups have been problematic. Flamingos had been placed with numerous branches within Neognathae, such as ducks and storks. The grebes had been placed with the loons. However recent studies seem to confirm these two branches as sister groups.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Reference

1. ^ Sangster G. (2005) A name for the flamingo-grebe clade. Ibis. 147:612–615.
2. ^ Van Tuinen M., Butvill DB, Kirsch JA, Hedges SB (2001). "Convergence and divergence in the evolution of aquatic birds". Proc. R. Soc. B 268 (1474): 1345–1350. doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1679. PMC 1088747. PMID 11429133. http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/268/1474/1345. 
3. ^ Chubb, A. L. (2004a). "New nuclear evidence for the oldest divergence among neognath birds: The phylogenetic utility of ZENK (i)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30 (1): 140–151. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00159-3. PMID 15022765. 
4. ^ Mayr G. (2004) Morphological evidence for sister group relationship between flamingos (Aves: Phoenicopteridae) and grebes (Podicipedidae). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 140:157–169.
5. ^ Fain; Houde (2004). "Parallel radiations in the primary clades of birds" (PDF). Evolution 58 (11): 2558–2573. doi:10.1554/04-235. PMID 15612298. http://biology-web.nmsu.edu/houde/Parallel_radiations.pdf. 
6. ^ Ericson, Anderson CL, Britton T, Elzanowski A, Johansson US, K�llersj� M, Ohlson JI, Parsons TJ et al. (2006). "Diversification of Neoaves: Integration of molecular sequence data and fossils" (PDF). Biology Letters 2 (4): 543–547. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0523. PMC 1834003. PMID 17148284. http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/abteilung/terrzool/ornithologie/neoaves.pdf. 
7. ^ Hackett, Shannon J.; et al. (2008-06-27). "A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History". Science 320 (5884): 1763–1768. doi:10.1126/science.1157704. PMID 18583609. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/320/5884/1763. Retrieved 2008-10-18.