Phaethoquornithes is a clade of birds that contains Eurypygimorphae and Aequornithes, found in 2014 by genome analysis.[3] Members of Eurypygimorphae were originally classified in the obsolete group Metaves, and Aequornithes were classified as the sister taxon to Musophagiformes or Gruiformes.[4][5]
Ardeae has also been used in older classifications as a suborder of Ciconiiformes containing herons and related species.[6]
Phaethoquornithes EurypygimorphaePhaethontiformes (tropicbirds)
Eurypygiformes (sunbittern and kagu)
Procellariiformes (albatrosses and petrels)
Sphenisciformes (penguins)
Ciconiiformes (storks)
Suliformes (boobies, cormorants, etc.)
Pelecaniformes (pelicans, herons & ibises)
Cladogram based on Kuhl, H. et al. (2020)[2]
Cladogram based on Kuhl, H. et al. (2020)