Biology:Petrochelidon

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Petrochelidon is a genus of birds known as cliff-nesting swallows.

Taxonomy

The genus Petrochelidon was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. He listed several species in the new genus but did not specify the type species.[1] In 1855 the English zoologist George Gray designated the type as Hirundo melanogaster Swainson. This taxon is now treated as a subspecies of the American cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota melanogaster).[2][3] The genus name Petrochelidon is from the Greek words petra, "rock", and khelidon, "swallow".[4]

The genus includes all five species commonly called cliff swallow. The genus contains ten species:[5]

Image Common name Scientific name Distribution
120px American cliff swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota Canada and the United States of America, South American countries, such as Southern Brazil, Uruguay, and parts of Argentina.
120px Cave swallow Petrochelidon fulva south-eastern New Mexico, Texas, Florida, the Greater Antilles, portions of southern Mexico, and along the west coast of South America.
120px Chestnut-collared swallow Petrochelidon rufocollaris Ecuador and Peru.
120px Preuss's cliff swallow Petrochelidon preussi Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
120px Red-throated cliff swallow Petrochelidon rufigula Angola, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Gabon, and Zambia.
Red Sea cliff swallow Petrochelidon perdita Sudan.
120px South African cliff swallow Petrochelidon spilodera Botswana, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
120px Streak-throated swallow Petrochelidon fluvicola Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan.
120px Fairy martin Petrochelidon ariel Australia, with some birds reaching New Guinea and Indonesia.
120px Tree martin Petrochelidon nigricans Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia east of the Wallace Line and the Solomon Islands.

References

  1. Cabanis, Jean (1850–1851) (in German, Latin). Museum Heineanum : Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt. 1. Halberstadt: R. Frantz. p. 47. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49584426.  For the publication date of volume 1 see: Dickinson, E.C.; Overstreet, L.K.; Dowsett, R.J.; Bruce, M.D. (2011). Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology: a Directory to the literature and its reviewers. Northampton, UK: Aves Press. pp. 80-81. ISBN 978-0-9568611-1-5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267763194. 
  2. Gray, George Robert (1855). Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum. London: British Museum. p. 13. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/17136633. 
  3. Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds (1960). Check-List of Birds of the World. 9. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 118. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14480793. 
  4. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 300. ISBN 978-1408125014. https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling. 
  5. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds (February 2025). "Swallows". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/swallows/. 

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