Phalaropus
| Phalaropes | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Female red-necked phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) in breeding plumage | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Subclass: | Neornithes |
| Infraclass: | Neognathae |
| Superorder: | Neoaves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Suborder: | Scolopaci |
| Family: | Scolopacidae |
| Genus: |
Phalaropus Brisson, 1760 |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Steganopus |
|
Phalaropus fulicarius
Phalaropus lobatus
Phalaropus tricolor
Steganopus
A phalarope is any of three living species of slender-necked shorebirds in the genus Phalaropus of the bird family Scolopacidae. The English and genus names come through French phalarope and scientific Latin Phalaropus from Ancient Greek phalaris, "coot", and pous, "foot". Coots and phalaropes both have lobed toes.
Phalaropes are close relatives of the shanks and tattlers, the Actitis and Terek sandpipers, and also of the turnstones and calidrids. They are especially notable for two things: their unusual nesting behavior, and their unique feeding technique.
Two species, the red phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius, called grey phalarope in Europe) and red-necked phalarope (P. lobatus) breed around the Arctic Circle and winter on tropical oceans. Wilson's phalarope (P. tricolor) breeds in western North America and migrates to South America. All are 6–10 in (15–25 cm) in length, with lobed toes and a straight, slender bill. Predominantly grey and white in winter, their plumage develops reddish markings in summer.
A fossil species, Phalaropus elenorae, is known from the Middle Pliocene 4–3 million years ago (mya). A coracoid fragment from the Late Oligocene (c. 23 mya) near Créchy, France, was also ascribed to a primitive phalarope; it might belong to an early species of the present genus or a prehistoric relative. The divergence of phalaropes from their closest relatives can be dated to around that time, as evidenced by the fossil record (chiefly of the shanks) and supported by tentative DNA sequence data. It is notable that the last remains of the Turgai Sea disappeared around then, and given the distribution of their fossil species it is quite plausible that this process played a major role in separating the lineages of the shank-phalarope clade.
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Wikipedia