Poodytes
Genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Poodytes is a genus of passerine birds in the grassbird family Locustellidae.
| Poodytes | |
|---|---|
| |
| New Zealand fernbird | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Locustellidae |
| Genus: | Poodytes Cabanis, 1851 |
| Type species | |
| Sphenoeacus gramineus Gould, 1845 | |
A molecular phylogenetic study of the grassbird family Locustellidae published in 2018 found that some of the genera, as then defined, were non-monophyletic. In the resulting rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, five species were moved from Megalurus to the resurrected genus Poodytes.[1][2] The genus had been introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis to accommodate the little grassbird which is therefore the type species.[3][4] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek poa meaning "grass" with dutēs meaning "diver".[5]
The genus contains the following species:[2]
- Fly River grassbird (Poodytes albolimbatus)
- Spinifexbird (Poodytes carteri)
- † Chatham Islands fernbird (Poodytes rufescens) (extinct)
- New Zealand fernbird (Poodytes punctatus)
- Little grassbird (Poodytes gramineus)