| Sri Lankan junglefowl | |
|---|---|
_Male.jpg)
| |
| Male | |
_female.jpg)
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| Female both in Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Genus: | Gallus |
| Species: | G. lafayettii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Gallus lafayettii Lesson, 1831
| |
| |
| Range | |
The Sri Lankan junglefowl (Gallus lafayettii sometimes spelled Gallus lafayetii), also known as the Ceylon junglefowl or Lafayette's junglefowl, is a member of the Galliformes bird order which is endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is the national bird. It is closely related to the red junglefowl (G. gallus), the wild junglefowl from which the chicken was domesticated. However, it is even more closely related to the grey junglefowl. Sri Lankan junglefowl and red junglefowl diverged about 2.8 million years ago, whereas time of divergence between the Sri Lankan junglefowl and grey junglefowl was 1.8 million years ago.[2]
Evidence of introgressive hybridization from Sri Lanka junglefowl has also been established in domestic chicken.[2] The specific name of the Sri Lankan junglefowl commemorates the French aristocrat Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette (1757–1834).
- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Gallus lafayettii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22679209A92807515. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679209A92807515.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ a b Lawal, R.A.; et al. (2020). "The wild species genome ancestry of domestic chickens". BMC Biology. 18 (13): 13. doi:10.1186/s12915-020-0738-1. PMC 7014787. PMID 32050971.