''Ninox'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

true owl The true owls or typical owls (family (biology), family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls and bay owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species ...

s comprising 36 species found in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

. Many species are known as hawk-owls or boobooks, but the northern hawk-owl (''Surnia ulula'') is not a member of this genus.

Taxonomy

The genus was introduced by English naturalist

Brian Houghton Hodgson Brian Houghton Hodgson (1 February 1801 – 23 May 1894) was a pioneer natural history, naturalist and ethnologist working in India and Nepal where he was a British Resident (title), Resident. He described numerous species of birds and mammals fr ...

in 1837 with the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

as ''Ninox nipalensis'', a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of ''Strix lugubris'' Tickell 1833. ''Strix lugubris'' is now considered a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the brown boobook (''Ninox scutula lugubris''). NinoxFuscaSquamipilaKeulemans

Species

The genus contains 37 species: *†

Laughing owl The laughing owl (''Ninox albifacies''), also known as ''whēkau'', the laughing jackass, or the white-faced owl, is an Extinction, extinct species of owl that was Endemism, endemic to New Zealand. Plentiful when European settlers arrived in Ne ...

, ''Ninox albifacies'' (extinct) * Rufous owl, ''Ninox rufa'' * Powerful owl, ''Ninox strenua'' * Barking owl, ''Ninox connivens'' * Sumba boobook, ''Ninox rudolfi'' * Australian boobook, ''Ninox boobook'' * Rote boobook ''Ninox rotiensis'' *

Timor boobook The Timor boobook (''Ninox fusca'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found on Timor, Roma, Leti (island), Leti and Semau Islands in the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. It has a more grey-brown plumage with no red tin ...

''Ninox fusca'' *

Alor boobook The Alor boobook (''Ninox plesseni'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is native to Pantar and Alor Islands in the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Southern Bobook, before being re ...

, ''Ninox plesseni'' * Tasmanian boobook, ''Ninox leucopsis'' * Morepork, ''Ninox novaeseelandiae'' * Northern boobook, ''Ninox japonica'' * Brown boobook, ''Ninox scutulata'' * Hume's boobook, ''Ninox obscura'' * Chocolate boobook, ''Ninox randi'' * Andaman boobook, ''Ninox affinis'' * Philippine hawk-owl group ** Luzon boobook, ''Ninox philippensis'' ** Mindanao boobook, ''Ninox spilocephala'' ** Camiguin boobook, ''Ninox leventisi'' ** Sulu boobook, ''Ninox reyi'' ** Cebu boobook, ''Ninox rumseyi'' ** Romblon boobook, ''Ninox spilonotus'' ** Mindoro boobook, ''Ninox mindorensis'' * Least boobook, ''Ninox sumbaensis'' * Togian boobook, ''Ninox burhani'' * Ochre-bellied boobook, ''Ninox ochracea'' * Cinnabar boobook, ''Ninox ios'' *

Moluccan boobook The Moluccan boobook or Moluccan hawk-owl group (''Ninox'' spp.), are a group of owls in the family Strigidae. They are found in Indonesia. Once consider a single species, the four species are now considered part of a species complex. Natural ha ...

group ** Halmahera boobook, ''Ninox hypogramma'' ** Buru boobook, ''Ninox hantu'' ** Seram boobook, ''Ninox squamipila'' **

Tanimbar boobook The Tanimbar boobook, or Tanimbar hawk-owl (''Ninox forbesi''), is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in the Tanimbar Islands of Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatene ...

, ''Ninox forbesi'' * Christmas boobook, ''Ninox natalis'' * Manus boobook, ''Ninox meeki'' * Papuan boobook, ''Ninox theomacha'' * Speckled boobook, ''Ninox punctulata'' * New Britain boobook, ''Ninox odiosa'' * New Ireland boobook, ''Ninox variegata'' Genomic studies of the extinct

laughing owl The laughing owl (''Ninox albifacies''), also known as ''whēkau'', the laughing jackass, or the white-faced owl, is an Extinction, extinct species of owl that was Endemism, endemic to New Zealand. Plentiful when European settlers arrived in Ne ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

indicate that it actually belongs in ''Ninox'' rather than the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus ''Sceloglaux''. The

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

owls ''"Otus" wintershofensis'' and ''"Strix" brevis'', both from the Early or Middle

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

of Wintershof, Germany, are close to this genus; the latter was sometimes explicitly placed in ''Ninox'' (Olson 1985), but is now in '' Intutula''. ''"Strix" edwardsi'' from the Late Miocene of La Grive St. Alban, France, might also belong into this group.

In human culture

*"NINOX" is an Australian Army project to develop night-vision goggles; it is named after ''Ninox strenua.''

References

*Olson, Storrs L. (1985): IX.C. Strigiformes. ''In:'' Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): ''Avian Biology'' 8: 129–132. Academic Press, New York.

Taxonomy

Species

In human culture

References

Further reading