Ketupa is agenus of owls in the familyStrigidae. The genus formerly contained just three species, thefish owls but based on the results from a genetic study published in 2020, the generic boundaries were altered. The genus now contains twelve species, nine of which were formerly placed in the genusBubo.
This genus formerly contained fewer species. Amolecular phylogenetic study of the typical owl family (Strigidae) published in 2020 and another study published in 2021 found that the generaKetupa andScotopelia were embedded in the genusBubo, rendering the genus paraphyletic. In a move to createmonophyletic genera, nine species were moved fromBubo toKetupa. Four of these species (shelleyi,coromandus,leucosticta, andphilippinensis) had not been sampled in the genetic studies but were assumed to belong toKetupa based on their morphological similarities to those species that had been sampled.Scotopelia (containing the fishing owls) was retained as a separate genus, although the genetic results suggested that theScotopelia may be embedded withinKetupa.[5][6][7]
^abGill, Frank; Donsker, David;Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023)."Owls".IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved31 January 2022.
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