Apalharpactes

Apalharpactes
Javan trogon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Trogoniformes
Family: Trogonidae
Genus: Apalharpactes
Bonaparte, 1854

Apalharpactes is a genus of birds in the Trogonidae family. They are restricted to humid highland forest on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. Unlike all other Asian trogons, their plumage is mainly green above and yellow below. Compared to most trogons, the sexual dimorphism is relatively small. The two species in the genus resemble each other, but A. reinwardtii is larger than A. mackloti, and the male A. mackloti has a chestnut rump-patch, which A. reinwardtii lacks. They feed on arthropods, small lizards and fruit.

Taxonomy

The members of Apalharpactes are sometimes placed in the genus Harpactes instead. However a 2010 study found that the two genera are actually distantly related and thus valid.[1]

The two species of Apalharpactes were formerly treated as conspecific under the name red-billed trogon or blue-tailed trogon (Apalharpactes reinwardtii, with mackloti as a subspecies), but are better treated as separate species.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Peter A. Hosner, Frederick H. Sheldon, Haw Chuan Lim, Robert G. Moyle (2010) Phylogeny and biogeography of the Asian trogons (Aves: Trogoniformes) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution Volume 57, Issue 3, December 2010, Pages 1219–1225
  2. ↑ Collar, N. J., & S. van Balen (2002). The Blue-tailed Trogon Harpactes (Apalharpactes) reinwardtii: species limits and conservation status. Forktail 18: 121-125.