Moluccan dwarf kingfisher

The Moluccan dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx lepidus), formerly known as the variable dwarf kingfisher, is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae that is endemic to the Maluku Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Moluccan dwarf kingfisher
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Alcedinidae
Subfamily: Alcedininae
Genus: Ceyx
Species:
C. lepidus
Binomial name
Ceyx lepidus
Temminck, 1836
Subspecies[2]
  • C. l. uropygialis - Gray, GR, 1861
  • C. l. lepidus - Temminck, 1836

This species was previous named the variable dwarf kingfisher and had 15 recognised subspecies. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2013 found that most of the taxa had substantially diverged from each other.[3] The species was therefore split and 12 of the subspecies were promoted to species status. At the same time the name was changed to the Moluccan dwarf kingfisher.[4] Some taxonomic authorities further split this species into the Seram dwarf kingfisher, and refer to the other group as the North Moluccan dwarf kingfisher. The Seram dwarf kingfisher is then limited to the southern Moluccas.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Ceyx lepidus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds). 2020. IOC World Bird List (v10.2). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.2.
  3. 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. doi:10.1525/auk.2012.12102. hdl:1808/13331.
  4. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Rollers, ground rollers & kingfishers". World Bird List Version 7.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 17 May 2017.


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