The lesser moorhen (''Paragallinula angulata'') is a species of bird in the family

Rallidae The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, althoug ...

. It is sometimes placed into the genus '' Gallinula''. It is the only member of the genus ''Paragallinula''. It is widely spread across

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

(excluding Southern Africa and Madagascar).

Taxonomy

The lesser moorhen was formerly placed in the genus '' Gallinula,'' but a 2015 molecular genetic study demonstrated that ''Gallinula'' was composed of four distinct lineages. The genus was split into four genera: ''Gallinula (

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

), Paragallinula, Porphyriops,'' and ''

Tribonyx ''Tribonyx'' is a small genus of birds in the rail family, containing two extant species and one recently extinct species. The genus is endemic to Australia and New Zealand. They are sometimes lumped with the moorhens in ''Gallinula''. Speci ...

.'' ''P. angulata'' is the only known species of ''Paragallinula'' which makes ''Paragallinula'' a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus. The name paragallinula comes from the Greek ''para'' 'beside' and the genus ''Gallinula.'' It is named for its similarity with the members of ''Gallinula'', but it also indicates its unique genetic lineage.

Notes

Recorded in the Western Palearctic ://www.birdguides.com/articles/lesser-moorhen-in-cape-verde-march-2019://www.birdguides.com/articles/lesser-moorhen-in-cape-verde-march-2019

References

External links

* Lesser moorhen
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds

lesser moorhen The lesser moorhen (''Paragallinula angulata'') is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is sometimes placed into the genus '' Gallinula''. It is the only member of the genus ''Paragallinula''. It is widely spread across Sub-Saharan Afri ...

Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Gruiformes-stub