Corythornis

Corythornis is a genus of small African river kingfishers.

Corythornis
Malachite kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Alcedinidae
Subfamily:	Alcedininae
Genus:	Corythornis Kaup, 1848
Type species
Alcedo nais Kaup, 1848
Species
see text

Phylogeny

Corythornis   Madagascan pygmy kingfisher       White-bellied kingfisher       Malagasy kingfisher     Malachite kingfisher

Cladogram based on Andersen et al. (2017)[1]

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.[2] The genus had been introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848.[3] The type species is the Príncipe kingfisher (Alcedo cristatus nais).[4] Corythornis is the sister group to the genus Ispidina containing two small African kingfishers.[1]

Species

The genus contains the following four species:[5]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Corythornis madagascariensis	Madagascan pygmy kingfisher	Madagascar
	Corythornis leucogaster	White-bellied kingfisher	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	Malagasy kingfisher	Madagascar, Mayotte and the Comoros.

References

1. Andersen, M.J.; McCullough, J.M.; Mauck III, W.M.; Smith, B.T.; Moyle, R.G. (2017). "A phylogeny of kingfishers reveals an Indomalayan origin and elevated rates of diversification on oceanic islands". Journal of Biogeography. 45 (2): 1–13. doi:10.1111/jbi.13139.
2. 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. doi:10.1111/J.2007.0908-8857.03921.x.
3. Kaup, Johann Jakob (1848). "Die Familie der Eisvögel (Alcedidae)". Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins für das Großherzogthum Hessen und Umgebung (in German). 2: 71–72. OCLC 183221382.
4. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 175.
5. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2016). "Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers". World Bird List Version 6.3. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 25 September 2016.

Further reading

• Fry, C.H.; Fry, K. (1992). Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. London: Chris Helm. ISBN 0-7136-8028-8.