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Falco columbarius (merlin)

Osteichthyes - Falconidae

Taxonomy
Falco columbarius was named by Linnaeus (1758). It is extant.

It was recombined as Falco (Tinnunculus) columbarius by Wetmore (1940), Wetmore (1956).

Sister species lacking formal opinion data
F. tinunculus

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1758Falco columbarius Linnaeus p. 90
1930Falco columbarius Hay p. 322
1940Falco (Tinnunculus) columbarius Wetmore p. 41
1942Falco columbarius Miller and DeMay p. 104
1956Falco (Tinnunculus) columbarius Wetmore p. 50
1994Falco columbarius Morgan p. 480
2004Falco columbarius Broughton p. 24
2007Falco columbarius Bedetti and Pavia p. 492 figs. Pl 2, fig I
2008Falco columbarius Zelenkov et al.
2014Falco columbarius del Hoyo et al.
2017Falco columbarius Clements et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
classOsteichthyes
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
—Diapsida()
—Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
RankNameAuthor
—Crocopoda
—ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
—Eucrocopoda
—Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
—Ornithodira
—Dinosauromorpha
—Dinosauriformes
—Dinosauria()
—Saurischia()
—Theropoda()
—Neotheropoda
—AverostraPaul 2002
—Tetanurae
—Coelurosauria()
—Maniraptora
—Paraves
classAves
—Falconiformes(Sharpe 1874)
familyFalconidaeVigors 1824
subfamilyFalconinaeVigors 1824
genusFalco
speciescolumbarius

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Falco columbarius Linnaeus 1758 [merlin]
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Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteo
Entire body: yeso
Adult length: 10 to < 100o
Adult width: 1.0 to < 10o
Adult height: 1.0 to < 10o
Architecture: compact or denseo
Ontogeny: accretion, modification of partso
Grouping: solitaryo
Environment: terrestrialf
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: volantf
Diet: carnivoref
Reproduction: oviparouso
Dispersal: direct/internalo
Dispersal 2: mobileo
Created: 2009-01-03 16:32:37
Modified: 2009-01-03 18:32:37
Source: f = family, o = order
References: Marsh 1875, Naka 2004, Kiessling 2004

Age range: base of the Gelasian to the top of the Holocene or 2.58000 to 0.00000 Ma

Collections (15 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Gelasian2.58 - 1.8USA (Florida) Falco columbarius (20384)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Italy (Siracusa) Falco columbarius (175900)
Rancholabrean0.21 - 0.014USA (California) Falco columbarius (152008 161536 192630)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117United Kingdom Falco columbarius (124956)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (late glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Falco columbarius (154722)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Wyoming) Falco columbarius (93277)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Italy Falco columbarius (194932)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (California) Falco columbarius (44954 190077)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0Cayman Islands Falco columbarius (209852)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0Russian Federation Falco columbarius (194812)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (California) Falco columbarius (194912 194926)