Poole, Karen E.
Chaetura
Sign in to saveChaetura is a genus of needletail swifts found in the Americas. Although they resemble swallows, the two are not at all closely related; this is instead a result of convergent evolution. Some members of Chaetura are long-distance migrants, while others are year-round residents.
Species
KINGDOM
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumGastrotricha
- OrderChaetonotida
- FamilyDichaeturidae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 276
- With media
- 97
- Family
- Apodidae
- Collections
- CMNH, ROM, CUMV, WFVZ, CM, USNM
- Recorded in
- United States, French Guiana, Costa Rica, Guyana, Colombia, Panama, Brazil, Paraguay
~2 min read
Encyclopedic overview
3 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Species
- References
Chaetura is a genus of needletail swifts found in the Americas. Although they resemble swallows, the two are not at all closely related; this is instead a result of convergent evolution. Some members of Chaetura are long-distance migrants, while others are year-round residents.
==Taxonomy== The genus Chaetura was introduced in 1826 by the English naturalist James Francis Stephens who listed several species in the genus but did not specify a type. In 1829 the English zoologist William Swainson selected the type as Chaetura pelasgia Stevens (sic). This is a junior synonym of Hirundo pelagica Linnaeus the chimney swift. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek χαιτη/khaitē meaning "long flowing hair" with ουρα/oura meaning "tail".
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Chaetura” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.