| Mimus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chilean mockingbird (M. thenca) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Mimidae |
| Genus: | Mimus F. Boie, 1826 |
| Type species | |
| Turdus polyglottos Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Species | |
14 recognized species, see text | |
| Synonyms | |
NesomimusRidgway, 1890 | |
Mimus is a genus ofpasserine birds in thefamilyMimidae. It contains thetypicalmockingbirds.
The genusMimus was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologistFriedrich Boie to contain a single species,Turdus polyglottisLinnaeus, 1758, thenorthern mockingbird, which becomes thetype species bymonotypy.[1][2] The genus name isLatin for "mimic".[3] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2006 found that the genusNesomimus, containing the species endemic to the Galápagos islands, was embedded in the genusMimus.[4] The genera were therefore merged under the earlier name,Mimus.[5] The position of the Galápagos species within the genusMimus was confirmed by a more comprehensive study published in 2012.[6]
The genus contains 14 species:[7]
TheNesomimus group includes the following species endemic to theGalápagos Islands:
TheNesomimus group isendemic to theGalápagos Islands. These mockingbirds were important inCharles Darwin's development of the theory ofevolution bynatural selection.
Previous to the merger betweenNesomimus andMimus scientists have proved in 1971 that both groups can produce hybrids. Robert I. Bowman and Anne Carter have studied a female Galápagos mockingbird and a male from the long-tailed mockingbird subspeciesMimus longicaudatus punensis that have interbred. They raised a hybrid offspring to adulthood.[8]
Media related toMimus at Wikimedia Commons