Rallidae

Belongs within: Gruiformes.
Contains: Rallini, Pardirallini, Fulicini, Porphyrio, Laterallini, Amaurornithini, Zapornini.

Rallidae, the rails, are a group of ground-dwelling birds found mostly in swampy or other damp habitats. They are commonly narrow-bodied birds with strong, moderately long legs.

Taxonomic arrangements within the family have often been unstable. Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses have supported a basal division between two subfamilies with the Rallinae including mostly longer-billed species. The Nkulengu rail Himantornis haematopus, an African rainforest species, has historically been thought to be the sister taxon to other rails but is placed by recent analyses within a broader Himantornithinae. Gymnocrex is an Indonesian genus of species with bare skin around the eyes. The swamphens of the Porphyrionini are large-bodied rails that commonly possess a well-developed frontal shield.

Systematics of Rallidae

Synapomorphies (Livezey 1998): Os lacrimale with processus supraorbitalis present; margo medialis of extremitas sternalis coracoidei with medial, variably prominent crista medialis, continued cranially by crista procoracoidei; ala postacetabularis ilii, margo lateralis, crista dorsolateralis ilii, angulus caudolateralis marked by comparatively prominent, ventrally curved flange, undercut by deep concavitas infracristalis; ala postacetabularis ilii, facies ventralis, facies renalis ilii flat or convex, delimiting comparatively dorsoventrally deep fossa renalis, recessus iliacus; extremitas proximalis femoris, trochanter femoris, crista trochanteris, facies caudalis distal to facies articularis antitrochantericus with thickening weakly developed; hypotarsus, lamina medialis hypotarsi, plantar prominence relative to corpus tarsometatarsi, facies plantaris, less than or equal to that of lamina lateralis hypotarsi; sulcus extensorius of corpus tarsometatarsi with arcus extensorius present.

<==Rallidae [Crecina, Crecinae, Eulabeornithini, Fulicarina, Fulicina, Fulicinae, Rallia]
    |--RallinaeKM21
    |    |--RalliniKM21
    |    `--PardiralliniL98
    `--HimantornithinaeKM21
         |--+--+--+--Diaphorapteryx Forbes 1892G-RGT14, CC10
         |  |  |  |    `--*D. hawkinsi (Forbes 1892)CC10 [=Aphanapteryx hawkinsiG-RGT14, D. hawkingi (l. c.)CC10]
         |  |  |  `--Gymnocrex Salvadori 1875 [Gymnocrecini]KM21
         |  |  |       |--*G. rosenbergii (Schlegel 1866)G-RGT14 [=Rallina rosenbergiiG-RGT14, Eulabeornis rosenbergiiL98]
         |  |  |       |--G. plumbeiventris (Gray 1862)G-RGT14 [=Rallina plumbeiventrisG-RGT14, Eulabeornis plumbeiventrisL98]
         |  |  |       `--G. talaudensis Lambert 1998L98
         |  |  `--Himantornis Hartlaub 1855 [Himantornithini]KM21
         |  |       `--*H. haematopus Hartlaub 1855G-RGT14
         |  |            |--H. h. haematopusPB27
         |  |            `--H. h. whitesideiPB27
         |  `--FuliciniKM21
         `--+--Porphyrionini [Porphyrioninae, Porphyriornithini]L98
            |    |--Aphanocrex Wetmore 1963L98
            |    |    `--A. podarces Wetmore 1963 [=Atlantisia podarces]L98
            |    `--+--PorphyrioKM21
            |       `--Porphyrula Blyth 1852L98
            |            |--P. alleni (Thompson 1842)L98
            |            `--+--P. flavirostris (Gmelin 1789)L98
            |               `--P. martinica (Linnaeus 1766)L98
            `--+--LateralliniKM21
               `--+--AmaurornithiniKM21
                  `--ZaporniniKM21

Rallidae incertae sedis:
  PalaeorallusM09
    |--P. alienus Kurochkin 1968M09
    `--P. troxelliFP64
  Pennula sandwichensisFP64
  Ibidopsis Lydekker 1891M05
    `--*I. hordwelliensis Lydekker 1891M02
  Quercyrallus Brodkorb 1952M02
    |--*Q. arenarius (Milne-Edwards 1892) [=Rallus arenarius]M02
    `--Q. quercy Cracraft 1973M09
  Parvirallus Harrison & Walker 1979M02
    |--*P. gracilis Harrison & Walker 1979M02
    |--P. bassetti Harrison 1984M02
    |--P. gassoni Harrison 1984M02
    `--P. medius Harrison 1984M02
  Latipons Harrison & Walker 1979M02
    |--*L. gardneri Harrison & Walker 1979M02
    `--L. robinsoni Harrison & Walker 1979M02
  Montirallus Mlíkovský 1981M02
    `--*M. gypsorum (Gervais 1848) [=Numenius gypsorum, N. (Limosa) gypsorum, Villetus gypsorum]M02
  Rallicrex Lambrecht 1933M02
    |--*R. kolozsvarensis Lambrecht 1933M02
    `--R. polgardiensis Jánossy 1991M02
  Paraortygometra Lambrecht 1933 [incl. Microrallus Švec 1983]M02
    `--*P. porzanoides (Milne-Edwards 1869) [=Rallus porzanoides; incl. *Microrallus fejfari Švec 1983]M02
  Palaeoaramides Lambrecht 1933 [incl. Tertiariaporphyrula Kuročkin & Ganea 1972]M02
    |--*P. christyi (Milne-Edwards 1869) (see below for synonymy)M02
    |--P. beaumontii (Milne-Edwards 1869) (see below for synonymy)M02
    |--P. lungi (Kuročkin & Ganea 1972) [=Tertiariaporphyrula lungi]M02
    |--P. minutus Cracraft 1973M02
    `--P. tugarinovi Kuročkin 1980M02
  Miorallus Lambrecht 1933M02
    `--*M. major (Milne-Edwards 1869) [=Rallus major]M02
  Mundia elpenorHSS13
  Ionornis martinicusS18
  Belgirallus Mayr & Smith 2001M05
    |--B. minutus Mayr & Smith 2001M09
    `--B. oligocaenus Mayr & Smith 2001M09
  Hovacrex robertiL98
  Pleistorallus Worthy 1997CC10
    `--*P. flemingi Worthy 1997CC10
  Aphanolimnas Sharpe 1892L98
    `--*A. monasa Kittlitz 1858L98 [=Rallus monasaG-RGT14, Porzana (Limnocorax) monasaL98]
  Nesophylax Murphy 1924L98
    `--*N. ater (North 1908) [=Porzana (Limnocorax) atra]L98
  Porzanula Frohawk 1892L98
    `--*P. palmeri Frohawk 1892 [=Porzana palmeri]L98
  Miserythrus leguatiH79

Palaeoaramides beaumontii (Milne-Edwards 1869) [=Rallus beaumontii, Pararallus beaumonti, *Tertiariaporphyrula beaumonti]^M02

*Palaeoaramides christyi (Milne-Edwards 1869) [=Rallus christyi; incl. R. eximius Milne-Edwards 1869, Palaeoaramides eximius]^M02

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[G-RGT14] Garcia-R, J. C., G. C. Gibb & S. A. Trewick. 2014. Deep global evolutionary radiation in birds: diversification and trait evolution in the cosmopolitan bird family Rallidae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 81: 96–108.

[H79] Haast, J. von. 1879. Geology of the Provinces of Canterbury and Westland, New Zealand. A report comprising the results of official explorations. “Times” Office: Christchurch.

[HSS13] Hirschfeld, E., A. Swash & R. Still. 2013. The World’s Rarest Birds. Princeton University Press: Princeton (New Jersey).

[KM21] Kirchman, J. J., N. R. McInerney, T. C. Glarla, S. L. Olson, E. Slikas & R. C. Fleischer. 2021. Phylogeny based on ultra-conserved elements clarifies the evolution of rails and allies (Ralloidea) and is the basis for a revised classification. Ornithology 138: 1–21.

[L98] Livezey, B. C. 1998. A phylogenetic analysis of the Gruiformes (Aves) based on morphological characters, with an emphasis on the rails (Rallidae). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B—Biological Sciences 353: 2077–2151.

[M05] Mayr, G. 2005. The Paleogene fossil record of birds in Europe. Biological Reviews 80: 515–542.

[M09] Mayr, G. 2009. Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[PB27] Pilsbry, H. A., & J. Bequaert. 1927. The aquatic mollusks of the Belgian Congo, with a geographical and ecological account of Congo malacology. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 53 (2): 69–602, pls 10–77.

[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.