''Dendropicos'' is a
genus of
woodpeckers in the family
Picidae
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. M ...
. They are small woodpeckers that are native to the
sub-Saharan woodlands and forests.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Dendropicos'' was introduced by the French ornithologist,
Alfred Malherbe in 1849. The
type species was subsequently designated as one of the
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of the
cardinal woodpecker. The word ''Dendropicos'' comes from the
Greek ''dendron'' meaning tree and ''pikos'' for woodpecker. Molecular genetic studies have shown that the genus ''Dendropicos'' is
sister to the genus ''
Chloropicus''.
The genus ''Dendropicos'' formerly contained several additional species. A 2015
molecular phylogenetic
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
study that analysed nuclear and
mitochondrial
A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is use ...
DNA sequences from pied woodpeckers found that ''Dendropicos'' was
polyphyletic. In the rearranged genera the
bearded,
fire-bellied and
yellow breasted woodpeckers were moved to ''
Chloropicus'' while the
Arabian woodpecker
The Arabian woodpecker (''Dendrocoptes dorae'') or Sarat woodpecker, is a bird species of the family Picidae, native to the Sarawat Mountains of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It is the only woodpecker that breeds on the Arabian Peninsula.
This speci ...
was moved to ''
Dendrocoptes
''Dendrocoptes'' is a genus of woodpeckers in the (family Picidae) native to Eurasia.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Dendrocoptes'' was erected by the German ornithologists Jean Cabanis and Ferdinand Heine in 1863 with the middle spotted woodpecker (''Den ...
''.
The taxonomic committee of the
British Ornithologists' Union
The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds ("ornithology") and around the world, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry ...
have recommended an alternative arrangement of species in which the genera ''
Dendrocoptes
''Dendrocoptes'' is a genus of woodpeckers in the (family Picidae) native to Eurasia.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Dendrocoptes'' was erected by the German ornithologists Jean Cabanis and Ferdinand Heine in 1863 with the middle spotted woodpecker (''Den ...
'' and ''
Leiopicus'' are combined into a larger ''Dendropicos''.
[ ]
Elliot's, African grey, eastern grey and olive woodpeckers are sometimes placed in a separate genus, ''Mesopicos''.
[
The genus contains the following 12 species:][
]
Description
Only males have red plumage in the crown, and some species have red plumage on the rump or belly in either sex.[
]
References
Bird genera
Taxa named by Alfred Malherbe
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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