Pelecanimorphae

Pelecanimorphae
Temporal range: Eocene–recent,
White pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and marabou storks (Leptoptilos crumenifer) in Lake Nakuru National Park.
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: Feraequornithes
Superorder: Pelecanimorphae
Livezey & Zusi, 2007
Clades

Pelecanimorphae is a clade of aequornithean birds that comprises the orders Ciconiiformes, Suliformes and Pelecaniformes. In the past the name has been used as a homonym for Pelecaniformes. Pelecanimorphae is defined in the PhyloCode by George Sangster and colleagues in 2022 as "the least inclusive clade containing Pelecanus onocrotalus, Sula leucogaster, and Ciconia ciconia". The less inclusive clade Pelecanes was named by Sangster et al, 2022 to unite Pelecaniformes and Suliformes and defined in the PhyloCode as the "least inclusive crown clade containing Pelecanus onocrotalus and Sula leucogaster".

This cladogram follows the hypothesis that herons are sister to Pelecani.

Pelecanimorphae
Ciconiiformes

Ciconiidae (storks)

Pelecanes
Suliformes

Fregatidae (frigatebirds)

Sulidae (boobies and gannets)

Anhingidae (darters)

Phalacrocoracidae (cormorants)

Pelecaniformes

Threskiornithidae (ibises and spoonbills)

Ardeidae (herons)

Pelecani

Scopidae (hamerkop)

Balaenicipitidae (shoebill)

Pelecanidae (pelicans)