Phaethontidae more maiorum in ordinemPelecaniformes digerebantur, qui Pelecanidas, Phalacrocoracidas, Anhingidas, Sulidas, et Fregatidas comprehendebat. Taxinomia Sibley–Ahlquist Pelecaniformes cum aliis gregibus coniunxit ut "Ciconiiformes" permagnus grex essent. Qui autem grex, omnino paraphyleticus recentius monstratus, iterum diffissus est.
Microscopica structurae testarumovorum enodatio a Constantino Mikhailov anno 1995 edita monstravit testas ovorum Phaethontidarum crassa aliorum Pelecaniformium materie miocroglobulari carere.[2] Jarvis et alii, in "Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds," commentario anno 2014 divulgato, Phaethontidas artissime cum Eurypyga helias et Rhynocheto jubato ordinis Eurypygiformium coniungit, cum hi clades Aequornithes, gregem sororium "avium aquaticarum nuclearium" dictum, constituerent, coniecturam "Metaves" relinquentes.[3]
Phaethon rubricauda (Oceanus Indicus et Pacificus occidentalis et medius tropicus)
Phaeton lepturus (late in aquis tropicis divulgatus, praeter Pacificum orientalem)
Phaethon aethereus est basalis intra genus. Fissura inter Phaethontem aethereum et alias duas Phaethontidas abhinc annorum sex milliones facta fuisse putatur, fissura inter Phaethontem rubricaudam et Phaethontem lepturum abhinc annorum quattuor milliones facta.[6]
Phaethusavis et Heliadornis sunt genera praehistorica ex fossilibus Phaethontidarum descripta. Typus familiae est Phaethon aethereus.
↑Mikhailov, Konstantin E. (1995). "Eggshell structure in the shoebill and pelecaniform birds: comparison with hamerkop, herons, ibises and storks". Canadian Journal of Zoology73 (9): 1754–70.
↑Kennedy, Martyn; Spencer, Hamish G. (2004). "Phylogenies of the frigatebirds (Fregatidae) and tropicbirds (Phaethonidae), two divergent groups of the traditional order Pelecaniformes, inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution31 (1): 31–38.
Boland, C. R. J., M. C. Double, et G. B. Baker. 2004. "Assortative mating by tail streamer length in red-tailed tropicbirds Phaethon rubricauda breeding in the Coral Sea." Ibis 146 (4): 687–90. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.2004.00310.x.
del Hoyo Josep, et al., eds. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Barcinonae: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-87334-10-5.
Fleet, Robert R. 1974. The red-tailed tropicbird on Kure Atoll. Vasingtoniae: American Ornithologists' Union.
Nelson, Bryan.2005. Pelicans, Cormorants and their relatives. Oxoniae: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-857727-3.
Spear, Larry B., et David G. Ainley. 2005. "At-sea behaviour and habitat use by tropicbirds in the eastern Pacific." Ibis 147 (2): 391–407. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.2005.00418.x. Editio interretialis.
van Tuinen, Marcel, David Waterhouse, et Gareth J. Dyke. 2004. "Avian molecular systematics on the rebound: a fresh look at modern shorebird phylogenetic relationships." Journal of Avian Biology 35 (3): 191–94. doi:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03362.x.