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''Strix'' 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 ...
of
owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
s in the typical owl family (Strigidae), one of the two generally accepted living families of owls, with the other being
Tytonidae The bird family Tytonidae, which includes the barn owls ''Tyto'' and the bay owls ''Phodilus'', is one of the two Family (biology), families of owls, the other being the true owls or typical owls, True owl, Strigidae. They are medium to large owl ...
. Common names are earless owls or wood owls, though they are not the only owls without ear tufts, and " wood owl" is also used as a more generic name for forest-dwelling owls. These are medium-sized to large, robustly built, powerful owls. They do not have ear tufts and most are highly
nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...
woodland birds. Most prey on small
mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
s, birds, and
reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...
. Most owls in the genus ''Strix'' can be distinguished from other
genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
of owls through their hooting vocalization and lack of visible ears. The
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
genus name ''Strix'' referred to a mythical vampiric owl-monster believed to suck the blood of infants. Although the genus ''Strix'' was established for the earless owls by
Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
in 1758, many applied the term to other owls (namely the ''
Tyto ''Tyto'' is a genus of owls in the family Tytonidae. Depending on the species and the locality, common names include barn owl, common barn owl, grass owl, sooty owl, masked owl, field owl or simply owl. It is the most widely distributed genus o ...
'') until the late 19th century.Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002)
''Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe''
. Ninox Press, Prague. p.217
This genus is closely related to the extinct Ornimegalonyx.


Taxonomy

The genus ''Strix'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''
Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...
''. 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 ...
is the
tawny owl The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is a stocky, medium-sized owl in the family Strigidae. It is commonly found in woodlands across Europe, as well as western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. The tawny owl' ...
. The genus name is a
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word meaning "owl". Some
Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...
species were formerly classified in a separate genus, ''Ciccaba'', which was eventually merged based on the placement of its type species, ''
Strix huhula The black-banded owl (''Strix huhula'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. Entirely nocturnal, this midsized black and white neotropical bird is a resident species, and therefore never migrates out of its native South America. Its nat ...
''.


Species

The genus contains 22 species: *
Spotted wood owl The spotted wood owl (''Strix seloputo'') is an owl of the earless owl genus, ''Strix''. Its range is disjunct; it occurs in many regions surrounding Borneo, but not on that island itself. Description The spotted wood owl grows to a length o ...
, ''S. seloputo'' *
Mottled wood owl The mottled wood owl (''Strix ocellata'') is a species of large owl found in India and Nepal. They are found in gardens and thin deciduous forests adjacent to dry thorn forests or farmland. They are easily detected by their distinctive tremulous ...
, ''S. ocellata'' *
Brown wood owl The brown wood owl (''Strix leptogrammica'') is found in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Taiwan, and south China. The brown wood owl is a resident breeder in south Asia. This species is a part of the family (biology), family of owls know ...
, ''S. leptogrammica'' *
Tawny owl The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is a stocky, medium-sized owl in the family Strigidae. It is commonly found in woodlands across Europe, as well as western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. The tawny owl' ...
, ''S. aluco'' *
Maghreb owl The Maghreb owl (''Strix mauritanica'') is an owl of the earless owl genus, ''Strix''. It occurs in northwestern Africa from Morocco to Tunisia and Mauritania. It was previously considered a subspecies of the tawny owl The tawny owl ('' ...
, ''S. mauritanica'' *
Himalayan owl The Himalayan owl (''Strix nivicolum''), also known as the Himalayan wood owl, is an owl of the forests of the Asia, from the Himalayas to Korea and Taiwan. Description The Himalayan owl is a medium-sized owl with a rounded head without ear t ...
, ''S. nivicolum'' *
Desert owl The desert owl or desert tawny owl (''Strix hadorami''), formerly known as Hume's owl, is a species of owl. It is closely related to the more widespread tawny owl and to the range-restricted Omani owl. This species is a part of the family Strig ...
, ''S. hadorami'' *
Omani owl The Omani owl (''Strix butleri'') is an owl of the genus ''Strix (genus), Strix'' found in shrubland and rocky areas of Oman, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. It was discovered in 2013. After the distinctive Omani owl was discovered, a simila ...
, ''S. butleri'' *
Spotted owl The spotted owl (''Strix occidentalis'') is a species of true owl. It is a resident species of old-growth forests in western North America, where it nests in tree hollows, old bird of prey nests, or rock crevices. Nests can be between high a ...
, ''S. occidentalis'' *
Barred owl The barred owl (''Strix varia''), also known as the northern barred owl, striped owl or, more informally, hoot owl or eight-hooter owl, is a North American large species of owl. A member of the true owl family, Strigidae, they belong to the genus ...
, ''S. varia'' * Cinereous owl, ''S. sartorii'' * Fulvous owl, ''S. fulvescens'' * Rusty-barred owl, ''S. hylophila'' * Chaco owl, ''S. chacoensis'' * Rufous-legged owl, ''S. rufipes'' *
Ural owl The Ural owl (''Strix uralensis'') is a large nocturnal owl. It is a member of the true owl family, ''Strigidae''. The Ural owl is a member of the genus ''Strix (genus), Strix'', that is also the origin of the family's name under Linnaean taxonom ...
, ''S. uralensis'' *
Great grey owl The great grey owl (''Strix nebulosa'') (also great gray owl in American English) is a true owl, and is the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in the genus ''Str ...
, ''S. nebulosa'' * African wood owl, ''S. woodfordii'' * Mottled owl, ''S. virgata'' * Black-and-white owl, ''S. nigrolineata'' * Black-banded owl, ''S. huhula'' * Rufous-banded owl, ''S. albitarsis''


Fossil species

The genus ''Strix'' is well represented in the
fossil record 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 preserved ...
. Being a fairly generic type of strigid owl, they were probably the first truly modern Strigidae to evolve. However, whether several of the species usually placed in this genus indeed belong here is uncertain. Generally accepted in ''Strix'' are: *''S. dakota'' (Early Miocene of South Dakota, USA) – tentatively placed here *''Strix'' sp. (Late Miocene of Nebraska, USA) *''Strix'' sp. (Late Pliocene of Rębielice Królewski, Poland) apparently similar to the
great grey owl The great grey owl (''Strix nebulosa'') (also great gray owl in American English) is a true owl, and is the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in the genus ''Str ...
*''Strix intermedia'' (Early - Middle Pleistocene of EC Europe) – may be paleosubspecies of ''S. aluco'' *''Strix brea'' (Late Pleistocene of SW North America) Now placed in its own genus. (See below) * *''Strix'' sp. (Late Pleistocene of Ladds, USA) ''"Strix" wintershofensis'' (Early/Middle Miocene of Wintershof West, Germany) and ''"Strix" edwardsi'' (Middle Miocene of Grive-Saint-Alban, France), while being strigid owls, have not at present been reliably identified to genus; they might also belong into the European ''Ninox''-like group. ''"Strix" ignota'' (Middle Miocene of Sansan, France) is sometimes erroneously considered a ''
nomen nudum In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published ...
'', but this assumption is based on what appears to be a ''
lapsus In philology, a lapsus (Latin for "lapse, slip, error") is an involuntary mistake made while writing or speaking. Investigations In 1895 an investigation into verbal slips was undertaken by a philologist and a psychologist, Rudolf Meringer and ...
'' or misprint in a 1912 source. It may well belong into the present genus, but this requires confirmation. ''"Strix" perpasta'' (Late Miocene – Early Pliocene of Gargano Peninsula, Italy) does not appear to belong into this genus either. It is sometimes considered 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 a brown fish-owl
paleosubspecies A chronospecies is a species derived from a sequential development pattern that involves continual and uniform changes from an extinct ancestral form on an evolutionary scale. The sequence of alterations eventually produces a population that is p ...
. UMMP V31030, a
coracoid A coracoid is a paired bone which is part of the shoulder assembly in all vertebrates except therian mammals (marsupials and placentals). In therian mammals (including humans), a coracoid process is present as part of the scapula, but this is n ...
from Late Pliocene Rexroad Formation deposits of Kansas (USA), cannot be conclusively assigned to either the present genus or ''
Bubo A bubo (Greek βουβών, ''boubṓn'', 'groin') is adenitis or inflammation of the lymph nodes and is an example of reactive infectious lymphadenopathy. Classification Buboes are a symptom of bubonic plague and occur as painful swellings in ...
''. Extinct forms formerly in ''Strix'': * ''"Strix" antiqua'' – now in '' Prosybris'' * ''"Strix" brea'' - now ''
Oraristrix ''Oraristix brea'', the La Brea owl, is an extinct owl reported from the Upper Pleistocene asphalt deposits of the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California. It was first described in 1933 by Hildegarde Howard as ''Strix brea'', but this extin ...
brea'' * ''"Strix" brevis'' – now in '' Intutula'' * ''"Strix" collongensis'' – now in '' Alasio'' * ''"Strix" melitensis'' and ''"Strix" sanctialbani'' – now in ''
Tyto ''Tyto'' is a genus of owls in the family Tytonidae. Depending on the species and the locality, common names include barn owl, common barn owl, grass owl, sooty owl, masked owl, field owl or simply owl. It is the most widely distributed genus o ...
'' * ''"Strix" murivora'' – male of the Rodrigues scops owl * ''"Strix" newtoni'' and ''"Strix" sauzieri'' – male and female of the Mauritius scops owl


References


Further reading

* Milne-Edwards, Alphonse (1869–1871)
''Recherches anatomiques et paléontologiques pour servir à l'histoire des oiseaux fossiles de la France''
(Vol. 2). G. Masson, Paris. * {{Authority control Bird genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus