Ceyx (bird) explained

Ceyx is an Old World genus of river kingfishers.[1] These kingfishers are found from South East Asia to the Solomon Islands.

The genus was introduced by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799, and derives its name from the Greek myth of Alcyone and Ceyx.[2] The type species is the black-backed dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca).[3]

A molecular phylogenetic study of the alcedinine kingfishers published in 2007 found that the genera as then defined did not form monophyletic groups.[4] The species were subsequently rearranged into four monophyletic genera. The little kingfisher, azure kingfisher, Bismarck kingfisher, southern silvery kingfisher and Indigo-banded kingfisher were moved from Alcedo to Ceyx. All except one of the birds in the reconstituted genus have three rather than the usual four toes. The exception is the Sulawesi dwarf kingfisher which retains a vestigial fourth toe.[4]

The Moluccan dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx lepidus) was previous named the variable dwarf kingfisher and included 15 recognised subspecies. A genetic study published in 2013 found that most of the subspecies had substantially diverged from one another.[5] The species was therefore split and 12 of the subspecies were promoted to species status. At the same time the name was changed from the variable dwarf kingfisher to the Moluccan dwarf kingfisher.[6]

The two African species in the genus Ispidina were sometimes placed in this genus. Compared to the related species in the genus Alcedo they are more terrestrial.[7]

There are 23 species in the genus:[6]

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words. Dictionary.com.
  2. Book: Lacépède, Bernard Germain de . Bernard Germain de Lacépède . 1799 . Discours d'ouverture du Cours d'histoire naturelle des animaux vertébrés et a sang rouge: Tableau des sous-classes, divisions, sous-divisions, ordres et genres des oiseaux . Plassan . Paris . 10 .
  3. Book: Peters . James Lee . James L. Peters . 1945 . Check-list of Birds of the World . 5 . Harvard University Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 178 .
  4. Moyle . R.G. . Fuchs . J. . Pasquet . E. . Marks . B.D. . 2007 . Feeding behavior, toe count, and the phylogenetic relationships among alcedinine kingfishers (Alcedininae) . Journal of Avian Biology . 38 . 3 . 317–326 . 10.1111/J.2007.0908-8857.03921.x .
  5. 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 . 10.1525/auk.2012.12102 . 1808/13331 . 55352878 . free .
  6. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . December 2023 . Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers . World Bird List Version 14.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 6 January 2024 .
  7. Book: Woodall, Peter . Josep . del Hoyo . Andrew . Elliott . Sargatal . Jordi . Family Alcedinidae (Kingfishers) . Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 6, Mousebirds to Hornbills . 2001 . 103–187 . Barcelona . Lynx Edicions . 978-84-87334-30-6 .

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