Greenfinch

For other uses, see Greenfinch (disambiguation).

Greenfinch
European greenfinch (Chloris chloris); male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Subfamily: Carduelinae
Genus: Chloris
Cuvier, 1800
Type species
Loxia chloris[1]
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text

Synonyms

Chloris Cuvier, 1800 (but see text)
Chloris C.L.Brehm, 1856 (non Cuvier, 1800: preoccupied)
Chloris A.E.Brehm, 1857 (non Cuvier, 1800: preoccupied)

The greenfinches are small passerine birds in the genus Chloris in the subfamily Carduelinae within the Fringillidae. The species have a Eurasian distribution except for the European greenfinch, which also occurs in North Africa.

These finches all have large conical bills and yellow patches on the wing feathers.

The greenfinches were formerly placed in the genus Carduelis. Molecular phylogenetic studies showed that the greenfinches form a monophyletic group that is not closely related to the species in Carduelis and instead is sister to a clade containing the desert finch (Rhodospiza obsoleta) and the Socotra golden-winged grosbeak (Rhynchostruthus socotranus).[2] The greenfinches were therefore moved to the resurrected genus Chloris which had originally been introduced by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1800 with the European greenfinch as the type species.[3][4] The name is from Ancient Greek khloris, the European greenfinch, from khloros, "green".[5]

  1. ^ "Fringillidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ^ Zuccon, Dario; Prŷs-Jones, Robert; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Ericson, Per G.P. (2012). "The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 62 (2): 581–596. Bibcode:2012MolPE..62..581Z. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002. PMID 22023825. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  3. ^ Cuvier, Georges (1800). Leçons d'anatomie comparée. Vol. 1. Paris: Baudouin. Table 2. The year on the title page is An VIII.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ioc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.