The scaly spurfowl (''Pternistis squamatus'') is a species of bird in the family

Phasianidae The Phasianidae are a family (biology), family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, Turkey bird, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular Game (hunti ...

. It is found in Angola,

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

, Cameroon, Central African Republic,

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

, Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria,

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Taxonomy

The scaly spurfowl was formally described in 1857 by the American ornithologist John Cassin from specimens collected by Paul Du Chaillu in the

Cape Lopez Cape Lopez () is a headland on the coast of Gabon, west central Africa. The westernmost point of Gabon, it separates the Gulf of Guinea from the South Atlantic Ocean. Cape Lopez is the northernmost point of a low, wooded island between two mouths ...

region in what is now the West Africa state of Gabon. Cassin coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Francolinus squamatus''. The specific epithet ''squamatus'' is Latin for "scaled". The species is now placed in the genus '' Pternistis'' that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. A phylogenetic study published in 2019 found that the scaly spurfowl is a sister species to the Ahanta spurfowl. Three

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 ...

are now recognised: * ''P. s. squamatus'' ( Cassin, 1857) — southeast Nigeria to north and east Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Gabon and the Republic of the Congo (R Congo) * ''P. s. schuetti'' (

Cabanis Cabanis is the surname of: * George Cabanis (1815-1892), American politician *Jean Cabanis (1816–1906), German ornithologist * José Cabanis (1922–2000), French writer, historian and magistrate *Pierre Jean George Cabanis Pierre Jean Georges ...

, 1880) — east R Congo to Uganda, central and southwest Kenya, and central Ethiopia. Also northeast and southeast Tanzania and north Malawi (

Vipya Plateau The Viphya Mountains, also known as the Viphya Plateau or Viphya Highlands, are a mountain range in Malawi's Northern Region. Geography The range runs north-northeast along the west shore of Lake Malawi. The range extends approximately 210 km ...

) * ''P. s. maranensis'' ( Mearns, 1910) — southeast Kenya, northeast Tanzania

Notes

References

External links

Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the scaly spurfowl

scaly spurfowl The scaly spurfowl (''Pternistis squamatus'') is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia ...

Birds of Central Africa Birds of East Africa

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Galliformes-stub