Corythornis is a genus of small African river kingfishers.
A molecular phylogenetic study of the alcedinine kingfishers published in 2007 found that the genera as then defined did not form monophyletic groups. The species were subsequently rearranged into four genera, with four species in the resurrected genus Corythornis.[1] The genus had been introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848.[2] The type species is the Príncipe kingfisher (Alcedo cristatus nais).[3] Corythornis is the sister group to the genus Ispidina containing two small African kingfishers.
The genus contains the following four species:[4]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corythornis madagascariensis | Madagascar | ||
| Corythornis leucogaster | Guinea to Mali and Ghana, Nigeria to north west Angola, Bioko Island, east Congo to south Uganda and northwest Zambia | ||
| Corythornis cristatus | Malachite kingfisher | Sub-Saharan Africa except for the very arid parts of Somalia, Kenya, Namibia and Botswana. | |
| Corythornis vintsioides | Madagascar, Mayotte and the Comoros. | ||