Campephilus

Taxobox
name = "Campephilus"


image_width = 220px
image_caption = "Campephilus principalis"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Piciformes
familia = Picidae
genus = "Campephilus"
genus_authority = Gray, 1840
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.

"Campephilus" is a genus of large American woodpeckers in the family Picidae.

This genus was created by George Robert Gray, who suggested taking "Campephilus principalis" as the type for the genus. The name "Campephilus" means "lover of grubs" - an allusion to the diet of these birds, many of which feed on the larvae of wood-boring beetles. Contrary to long-held opinion, their closest relatives are not the large black "Dryocopus" woodpeckers: instead, they are related to the "Chrysocolaptes" flamebacks from Southeast Asia (Benz "et al.", 2006).

The English names ivory-billed woodpecker or ivorybill are sometimes used to refer to members of this genus, though more these are used specifically for "Campephilus principalis".

pecies

* Powerful Woodpecker, "Campephilus pollens"
* Crimson-bellied Woodpecker, "Campephilus haematogaster"
* Red-necked Woodpecker, "Campephilus rubricollis"
* Robust Woodpecker, "Campephilus robustus"
* Crimson-crested Woodpecker, "Campephilus melanoleucos"
* Guayaquil Woodpecker, "Campephilus gayaquilensis"
* Pale-billed Woodpecker, "Campephilus guatemalensis"
* Cream-backed Woodpecker, "Campephilus leucopogon"
* Magellanic Woodpecker, "Campephilus magellanicus"
* Ivory-billed Woodpecker, "Campephilus principalis" - possibly extinct (late 20th century)
* Imperial Woodpecker, "Campephilus imperialis" - possibly extinct (late 20th century)

A fossil ivorybill species, "Campephilus dalquesti", was described from bones found in Late Pleistocene deposits of Scurry County.

References

* Benz, Brett W.; Robbins, Mark B. & Peterson, A. Townsend (2006): Evolutionary history of woodpeckers and allies (Aves: Picidae): Placing key taxa on the phylogenetic tree. "Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution" 40: 389–399. DOI|10.1016/j.ympev.2006.02.021