''Actophilornis'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
jacana. It contains two species restricted to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and its surrounding islands.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Actophilornis'' was introduced in 1925 by the American ornithologist
Harry C. Oberholser
Harry Church Oberholser (June 25, 1870 – December 25, 1963) was an American ornithologist.
Biography
Harry Oberholser was born to Jacob and Lavera S. Oberholser on June 25, 1870, in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Columbia University, but did ...
with the
African jacana
The African jacana (''Actophilornis africanus'') is a wader in the family Jacanidae. It has long toes and long claws that enables it to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, its preferred habitat. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan A ...
as the
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...
. ''Actophilornis'' was a replacement name for ''Actophilus'' which was pre-occupied. The name combines the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
''aktē'' meaning "river bank" or "coastal strand", ''-philos'' meaning "-loving" and ''ornis'' meaning "bird".
The genus contains two species:
*
African jacana
The African jacana (''Actophilornis africanus'') is a wader in the family Jacanidae. It has long toes and long claws that enables it to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, its preferred habitat. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan A ...
, ''Actophilornis africanus''
*
Madagascar jacana
The Madagascar jacana (''Actophilornis albinucha'') is a species of bird in the family Jacanidae.
It is endemic to Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links= ...
, ''Actophilornis albinucha''
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q482057
Bird genera
Taxa named by Harry C. Oberholser