Riccordia Explained

Riccordia is a genus of birds in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. They are endemic to the Caribbean.

Species

The species now placed in this genus were formerly assigned to the genus Chlorostilbon. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that Chlorostilbon was polyphyletic.^[1] In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, these species, as well as the blue-headed hummingbird in the monotypic Cyanophaia, were moved to the resurrected genus Riccordia that had been introduced in 1854 by the German ornithologist Ludwig Reichenbach with the Cuban emerald as the type species.^{[2] [3] [4]} The two extinct species, Brace's emerald and Gould's emerald, were not included in the phylogenetic studies and thus their placement is uncertain.^{[3] [4]} Reichenbach based the genus name on the specific epithet of the type species, recordii, which had been chosen by Paul Gervais to honour the French surgeon-naturalist Alexandre Ricord (born 1798).^[5]

The genus contains five species, of which one is extinct:^[4]

Notes and References

1. McGuire . J. . Witt . C. . Remsen . J.V. . Corl . A. . Rabosky . D. . Altshuler . D. . Dudley . R. . 2014 . Molecular phylogenetics and the diversification of hummingbirds . Current Biology . 24 . 8 . 910–916 . 10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.016 . 24704078 . free . 2014CBio...24..910M .
2. Reichenbach . Ludwig . Ludwig Reichenbach . 1854 . Aufzählung der Colibris Oder Trochilideen in ihrer wahren natürlichen Verwandtschaft, nebst Schlüssel ihrer Synonymik . Journal für Ornithologie (Supplement) . 1 . 1–24 [8] . German .
3. Stiles . F.G. . Remsen . J.V. Jr. . Mcguire . J.A. . 2017 . The generic classification of the Trochilini (Aves: Trochilidae): Reconciling taxonomy with phylogeny . Zootaxa . 4353 . 3 . 401–424 . 10.11646/zootaxa.4353.3 . 29245495 .
4. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . January 2022 . Hummingbirds . IOC World Bird List Version 12.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 13 July 2022 .
5. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 336 .