Belongs within: Telluraves.
Contains: Strigidae, Tyto.
The Strigiformes, owls, are mostly nocturnal, carnivorous birds with large, forward-facing eyes, soft plumage and hooked beaks. The stem group of the Strigiformes is represented in the Palaeogene of Europe and North America. Crown-group owls differ from the stem group in the presence of a medial tubercle on the proximal tarsometatarsus, and a particularly slender humerus (Mayr 2005). The Protostrigidae are characterised by a greatly widened median condyle on the tibiotarsus, and had the first and second toes strongly developed (Mayr 2005). The European Sophiornithidae are a less well-defined family with the genera Sophiornis and Berruornis united by overall similarity only (Mayr 2009).
<==Strigiformes [Nocturni, Striges]
| i. s.: Ornimegalonyx oteroiWH02
| MascarenotusHSS13
| |--M. gruchetiHSS13
| |--M. murivorusHSS13
| `--M. sauzieriHSS13
|--SophiornithidaeM09
| |--Sophiornis Mourer-Chauviré 1987M07
| | `--*S. quercynus Mourer-Chauviré 1987M02
| `--Berruornis Mourer-Chauviré 1994M07
| |--*B. orbisantiqui Mourer-Chauviré 1994M02
| `--B. halbedeli Mayr 2007M09
|--ProtostrigidaeM09
| |--Oligostrix Fischer 1983M05
| | `--*O. rupelensis Fischer 1983 [=O. rupeliensis]M02
| |--Eostrix Harrison 1980M05
| | |--*E. mimica (Wetmore 1938)M02, M09 [=Protostrix mimicaJM14]
| | |--E. martinellii Martin & Black 1972M09
| | `--E. vincenti Harrison 1980M09
| `--MinervaM09
| |--M. antiqua (Shufeldt 1913)M09
| |--M. californiensis (Howard 1965)M09
| |--M. leptosteus (Marsh 1871)M09
| `--M. saurodosis (Wetmore 1921)M09
`--+--Ogygoptynx [Ogygoptyngidae]M09
| `--O. wetmorei Rich & Bohaska 1976M09
`--+--StrigidaeM09
`--+--Palaeoglaux Mourer-Chauviré 1987M02 [PalaeoglaucidaeM09, Palaeoglaucinae]
| |--*P. perrierensis Mourer-Chauviré 1987M02
| `--P. artophoron Peters 1992M09
`--Tytonidae [Tytoninae]M09
| i. s.: Basityto Mlíkovský 1998M02
| `--*B. rummeli Mlíkovský 1998M02
| Prosybris Brodkorb 1970M02
| `--*P. antiqua (Milne-Edwards 1863)M02, M09 (see below for synonymy)
|--Selenornis Mourer-Chauviré 1987M02 [SelenornithinaeM09]
| `--*S. henrici (Milne-Edwards 1892) [=Otus henrici, Asio henrici]M02
|--+--TytoJT12
| `--Phodilus Geoffroy St.-Hilaire 1830 [=Photodilus (l. c.); Phodilinae, Photodilinae]B94
| |--P. assimilisAP21 [=P. badius assimilesRN72]
| |--P. badiusJT12
| | |--P. b. badiusRN72
| | |--P. b. arixuthusRN72
| | |--P. b. parvusRN72
| | `--P. b. saturatusRN72
| `--P. prigogineiJT12
`--NecrobyinaeM09
|--Nocturnavis Mourer-Chauviré 1987M09, M02
| `--*N. incerta (Milne-Edwards 1892) [=Bubo incertus]M02
|--Palaeobyas Mourer-Chauviré 1987M09, M05
| `--*P. cracrafti Mourer-Chauviré 1987M02
|--Palaeotyto Mourer-Chauviré 1987M09, M05
| `--*P. cadurcensis Mourer-Chauviré 1987M02
`--Necrobyas Milne-Edwards 1892 [incl. Paratyto Brodkorb 1970]M02
|--*N. harpax Milne-Edwards 1892M02
|--N. arvernensis (Milne-Edwards 1863) (see below for synonymy)M02
|--N. edwardsi Gaillard 1939M09
|--N. medius Mourer-Chauviré 1987M09 [=Prosybris mediaM02]
`--N. rossignoli Milne-Edwards 1892M09
Necrobyas arvernensis (Milne-Edwards 1863) [=Bubo arvernensis, Buteo (l. c.) arvernensis, *Paratyto arvernensis]M02
*Prosybris antiqua (Milne-Edwards 1863)M02, M09 [=Strix antiquaM02; incl. Necrobyas minimus Mourer-Chauviré 1987M09]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[AP21] Arlott, N., & B. van Perlo. 2021. Collins Birds of the World. William Collins.
[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.
[HSS13] Hirschfeld, E., A. Swash & R. Still. 2013. The World’s Rarest Birds. Princeton University Press: Princeton (New Jersey).
[M05] Mayr, G. 2005. The Paleogene fossil record of birds in Europe. Biological Reviews 80: 515–542.
[M07] Mayr, G. 2007. The birds from the Paleocene fissure filling of Walbeck (Germany). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27 (2): 394–408.
[M09] Mayr, G. 2009. Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer.
[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.
[RN72] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds.) 1972. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 2. Blandford Press: London.
[WH02] Worthy, T. H., & R. N. Holdaway. 2002. The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric life of New Zealand. Indiana University Press: Bloomington (Indiana).