| Swamphen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pūkeko,Porphyrio melanotus in New Zealand | |
Scientific 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 | |
Porphyrio is theswamphen orswamp henbird genus in therail family. It includes some smaller species of gallinules which are sometimes separated as genusPorphyrula or united with the gallinules proper (or "moorhens") inGallinula. ThePorphyrio 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]
ThegenusPorphyrio was introduced by the French zoologistMathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with thewestern swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) as thetype species.[2][3] The genus namePorphyrio is theLatin name for "swamphen",[4] meaning "purple".
The genus contains ten extant species and two that have become extinct in historical times:[5]
Authority control databases: National |
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