Corythornis | |
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Malachite kingfisher | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Coraciiformes |
Family: | Alcedinidae |
Subfamily: | Alcedininae |
Genus: |
Corythornis Kaup, 1848 |
Species | |
see text |
see text
Corythornis is a genus of small African river kingfishers.
The genus was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848. The type species is the Príncipe kingfisher (Alcedo cristata nais).
A molecular phylogenetic study of the alcedinine kingfishers published in 2007 found that the genera as then defined did not form monophyletic groups. The species were therefore rearranged into four genera, with four species in the resurrected genus Corythornis.
The genus contains the following four species: