Everything about Fowl totally explained
The
birds referred to as
fowl belong to one of two
orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl (
Galliformes) and the waterfowl (
Anseriformes). Interestingly, studies of anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups were close
evolutionary relatives; together, they form the fowl
clade which is scientifically known as
Galloanserae. This clade has been supported by
Retrotransposon presence/absence data as well.
"
Poultry", on the other hand, is a term for any kind of
domesticated bird or bird captive-raised for meat or eggs;
ostriches for example are sometimes kept as poultry, but are neither gamefowl nor waterfowl. In colloquial speech, the term "fowl" is however often used near-synonymously with "poultry" or even "bird", and many languages don't distinguish between "poultry" and "fowl". Nonetheless, the fact that Galliformes and Anseriformes most likely form a
monophyletic group makes a distinction between "fowl" and "poultry" warranted.
Many birds that are eaten by humans are fowl, including
poultry such as
chickens or
turkeys,
game birds such as
pheasants or
partridges, other wildfowl like
guineafowl or
peafowl, and
waterfowl such as
ducks or
geese.
Fowl were the first
neognathe lineages to evolve. From the limited
fossils that have to date been recovered, the conclusion that they were already widespread - indeed the predominant group of modern birds - by end of the
Cretaceous is generally accepted nowadays. Fossils such as
Vegavis indicate that essentially modern waterfowl - albeit belonging to a nowadays
extinct lineage - were contemporaries of the (non-avian)
dinosaurs. As opposed to the
morphologically fairly conservative Galliformes, the Anseriformes have adapted to filter-feeding and are characterized by a large number of
autapomorphies related to this lifestyle. The extremely advanced feeding systems of the Anseriformes, together with similarities of the early anseriform
Presbyornis to
shorebirds, had formerly prompted some scientists to ally Anseriformes with
Charadriiformes instead (
see also "
Graculavidae"). However, strong support for the Galloanserae has emerged in more recent studies based on new molecular and morphological analyses; the fowl clade continues to be accepted as a genuine evolutionary lineage by the vast majority of scientists.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Fowl'.
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