Swamphen

For the Latin grammarian sometimes known as Porphyrio, see Pomponius Porphyrion.

Swamphen
Temporal range: Middle Miocene-Present 15–0 Ma
Pūkeko, Porphyrio melanotus in New Zealand
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family: Rallidae
Genus: Porphyrio
Brisson, 1760
Type species
Porphyrio porphyrio
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text

Synonyms

Notornis
Porphyrula

Porphyrio is the swamphen or swamp hen bird genus in the rail family. It includes some smaller species of gallinules which are sometimes separated as genus Porphyrula or united with the gallinules proper (or "moorhens") in Gallinula. The Porphyrio gallinules are distributed in the warmer regions of the world. The group probably originated in Africa in the Middle Miocene, before spreading across the world in waves from the Late Miocene to Pleistocene.[1]

The genus Porphyrio was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the western swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) as the type species.[2][3] The genus name Porphyrio is the Latin name for "swamphen",[4] meaning "purple".

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés (in French and Latin). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. Vol. 1, p. 48, Vol. 5, p. 522.
  3. ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1934). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 207. Archived from the original on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  4. ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 314. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.