Heuglin's spurfowl
Heuglin's spurfowl (Pternistis icterorhynchus) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda. The German explorer Theodor von Heuglin first described the species.
| Heuglin's spurfowl | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Genus: | Pternistis |
| Species: | P. icterorhynchus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pternistis icterorhynchus (Heuglin, 1863) | |
 | |
geographic distribution | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Francolinus icterorhynchus | |
Taxonomy
Heuglin's spurfowl was described in 1863 by the German ornithologist and explorer Theodor von Heuglin from specimens collected near the Pongo River in what is now the Bahr el Ghazal region of South Sudan. He coined the binomial name Francolinus icterorhynchus.[2] The specific epithet icterorhynchus combines the Ancient Greek ikteros meaning "jaundice-yellow" and rhunkhos meaning "bill".[3] The species is now placed in the genus Pternistis that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832.[4][5] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2019 found that Heuglin's spurfowl is sister to the double-spurred spurfowl.[6] Heuglin's spurfowl is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[5]
References
- BirdLife International (2016). "Pternistis icterorhynchus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22678811A92789533. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678811A92789533.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- von Heuglin, Theodor (1863). "Ornithologische Beobachtungen aus Central-Africa". Journal für Ornithologie (in German and Latin). 11: 270–276 [275].
- Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- Wagler, Johann Georg (1832). "Neue Sippen und Gattungen der Säugthiere und Vögel". Isis von Oken (in German and Latin). cols 1218–1235 [1229].
- Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Pheasants, partridges, francolins". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- Mandiwana-Neudani, T.G.; Little, R.M.; Crowe, T.M.; Bowie, R.C.K. (2019). "Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of African spurfowls Galliformes, Phasianidae, Phasianinae, Coturnicini: Pternistis spp". Ostrich. 90 (2): 145–172. doi:10.2989/00306525.2019.1584925. S2CID 195417777.
