Pavo (bird)
| Pavo Temporal range: Late Miocene to present
| |
|---|---|
| Indian peacock (Pavo cristatus) displaying its tail | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Tribe: | Pavonini |
| Genus: | Pavo Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Type species | |
| Pavo cristatus (Indian peafowl) Linnaeus, 1758
| |
| Species | |
| |
Pavo is a genus of two Asiatic species in the tribe Pavonini. The two species, along with the Congo peafowl of Africa, are commonly referred to as "peafowl".
Taxonomy
The genus Pavo was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.[1] The genus name is the Latin word for a peacock.[2] The type species is the Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus).[3]
Species
The genus Pavo contains two extant species, both native to Asia:[4]
| Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian peafowl Male
|
Pavo cristatus Linnaeus, 1758 |
South Asia; introduced elsewhere |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Green peafowl Male
|
Pavo muticus Linnaeus, 1766 |
Southeast Asia |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
EN
|
Fossil record
- †Pavo bravardi (Gervais, 1849) (Bravard's peafowl) (Early–Late Pliocene) – Gallus moldovicus, sometimes misspelt moldavicus, may be a junior synonym[5]
- †Pavo miejue Lan et al., 2026 (extinct peafowl) (Middle Pleistocene) – the first extinct bird from Taiwan[6]
- †Gallus aesculapii Jánossy, 1976 (Late Miocene–Early Pliocene) – "junglefowl" of Greece, may also have been a peafowl[5]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pavo.
- ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 156.
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1934). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 133.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Pheasants, partridges, francolins". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ a b Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile (1989). "A peafowl from the Pliocene of Perpignan, France" (PDF). Palaeontology. 32 (2): 439 – via The Palaeontological Association.
- ^ Lan, Yong-Jie; Mayr, Gerald; Tsai, Cheng-Hsiu (2026-05-20). "A new Pleistocene peafowl from Taiwan reveals the extinction of a large galliform bird in East Asia". Royal Society Open Science. 13 (5) 260347. doi:10.1098/rsos.260347. ISSN 2054-5703.