Variable dwarf kingfisher

Variable dwarf kingfisher is a common name of a group of kingfishers in the genus, Ceyx.

The variable dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx lepidus or Alcedo lepidus) formerly included 15 subspecies.[1] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2013 found that most of the insular subspecies had substantially diverged from one another.[2] The variable dwarf kingfisher was therefore split and 12 of the subspecies were promoted to species status. At the same time the name of the variable dwarf kingfisher was changed to the Moluccan dwarf kingfisher.[3]

The species in the group are:

  1. ^ Fry, C. Hilary; Fry, Kathie; Harris, Alan (1992). "Variable Dwarf Kingfisher". Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, and Rollers. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 202–204. ISBN 978-0-7136-8028-7.
  2. ^ Andersen, M.J.; Oliveros, C.H.; Filardi, C.E.; Moyle, R.G. (2013). "Phylogeography of the Variable Dwarf-Kingfisher Ceyx lepidus (Aves: Alcedinidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences". Auk. 130 (1): 118–131. doi:10.1525/auk.2012.12102. hdl:1808/13331.
  3. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers". World Bird List Version 7.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 17 May 2017.