''Metriopelia'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
ground doves containing four
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
that live in the dry, upland habitats along the
Andean mountain chain in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. They have large wings and three species have orange skin around the eyes.
The genus was introduced by the French naturalist
Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte.
Life and career
...
in 1855 with the
black-winged ground dove
The black-winged ground dove (''Metriopelia melanoptera'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Taxonomy and systematics
The black-winged ground dove has two sub ...
(''Metriopelia melanoptera'') 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 specimen ...
. The name of the genus 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 peri ...
''metrios'' meaning "modest" with ''peleia'' meaning "dove".
The four species in the genus are:
*
Bare-faced ground dove
The bare-faced ground dove (''Metriopelia ceciliae'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.
Taxonomy and systematics
The bare-faced ground dove and its sister species Moreno's groun ...
(''Metriopelia ceciliae'')
*
Black-winged ground dove
The black-winged ground dove (''Metriopelia melanoptera'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Taxonomy and systematics
The black-winged ground dove has two sub ...
(''Metriopelia melanoptera'')
*
Golden-spotted ground dove
The golden-spotted ground dove (''Metriopelia aymara'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.
Taxonomy and systematics
The golden-spotted ground dove was placed in the monotypic gen ...
(''Metriopelia aymara'')
*
Moreno's ground dove
Moreno's ground dove (''Metriopelia morenoi'') or the bare-eyed ground dove, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Argentina.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Ger ...
(''Metriopelia morenoi'')
References
*
Bird genera
Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Columbiformes-stub