Editing Pelican (section)

=== Phylogenetic relationships ===

Molecular data support a close relationship between pelicans, [[Shoebill|shoebills]] (''Balaeniceps rex''), and [[Hamerkop|hamerkops]] (''Scopus umbretta'').<ref name="smith2010">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=N.D. |year=2010 |editor1-last=Desalle |editor1-first=Robert |title=Phylogenetic Analysis of Pelecaniformes (Aves) Based on Osteological Data: Implications for Waterbird Phylogeny and Fossil Calibration Studies |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=5 |issue=10 |page=e13354 |bibcode=2010PLoSO...513354S |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0013354 |pmc=2954798 |pmid=20976229 |doi-access=free}}</ref>  Together, they form a distinct [[clade]] within Pelecaniformes, although their precise evolutionary relationships remain under study.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mayr |first1=G. |year=2007 |title=Avian higher-level phylogeny: Well-supported clades and what we can learn from a phylogenetic analysis of 2954 morphological characters |journal=Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research |volume=46 |pages=63–72 |doi=10.1111/j.1439-0469.2007.00433.x |doi-access=free}}</ref>

{|
|-
| style="vertical-align:top;"|{{Clade|style=font-size:90%
|label1=
|1={{Clade
   |1=[[Suliformes]]
   |label2=[[Pelecaniformes]]
   |2={{Clade
      |label1=
      |1={{Clade
         |1=[[Heron]]s (Ardeidae)
         |2=[[Threskiornithidae|Ibises and spoonbills]] (Threskiornithidae)
         }}
      |label2=
      |2={{Clade
         |label1=
         |1={{Clade
            |1=[[Hamerkop]] (''Scopus umbretta'')
            |2=[[Shoebill]] (''Balaeniceps rex'')
            }}
         |2=Pelicans (''Pelecanus'')
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

[[Cladogram]] based on Hackett et al. (2008).<ref name="Hackett">{{cite journal |author1=Hackett, S.J. |author2=Kimball, R.T. |author3=Reddy, S. |author4=Bowie, R.C.K. |author5=Braun, E.L. |author6=Braun, M.J. |author7=Chojnowski, J.L. |author8=Cox, W.A. |author9=Han, K.-L. |author10=Harshman, J. |author11=Huddleston, C.J. |author12=Marks, B.D. |author13=Miglia, K.J. |author14=Moore, W.A. |author15=Sheldon, F.H. |author16=Steadman, D.W. |author17=Witt, C.C. |author18=Yuri, T. |year= 2008 |title= A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History |journal= Science |volume= 320|issue= 5884|pages= 1763–68 |doi=10.1126/science.1157704 |pmid=18583609|bibcode=2008Sci...320.1763H|s2cid=6472805 }}</ref>
 |style="vertical-align:top;"|
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| header = Closest living relatives
| width =150

| image1 = Hammerkopf2.jpg
| alt1 = Head of a hamerkop
| caption1 = [[Hamerkop]]

| image2 = Balaeniceps rex -Ueno Zoo, Tokyo, Japan -upper body-8a.jpg
| alt2 = Head of a shoebill
| caption2 = [[Shoebill]]
}}
|}