Apalharpactes is a genus of birds in the family Trogonidae. They are restricted to humid highland forest on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. Unlike all other Asian trogons, their plumage is mainly green above and yellow below. Compared to most trogons, the sexual dimorphism is relatively small. The two species in the genus resemble each other, but A. reinwardtii is larger than A. mackloti, and the male A. mackloti has a chestnut rump-patch, which A. reinwardtii lacks. They feed on arthropods, small lizards and fruit.

Apalharpactes
Javan trogon (Apalharpactes reinwardtii)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Trogoniformes
Family: Trogonidae
Genus: Apalharpactes
Bonaparte, 1854
Type species
Trogon reinwardtii[1]
Temminck, 1822

Taxonomy edit

The members of Apalharpactes are sometimes placed in the genus Harpactes instead. However a 2010 study found that the two genera are actually distantly related and thus valid.[2]

The two species of Apalharpactes were formerly treated as conspecific under the name red-billed trogon or blue-tailed trogon (Apalharpactes reinwardtii, with mackloti as a subspecies), but are better treated as separate species.[3]

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
  Apalharpactes mackloti Sumatran trogon Indonesian island of Sumatra
  Apalharpactes reinwardtii Javan trogon Western Java in Indonesia.

References edit

  • Allen, R. (2001). Genus Apalharpactes. Pp. 106 in: del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, & J. Sargatal. eds. (2001). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 6. Mousebirds to Hornbills. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 84-87334-30-X
  1. ^ "Trogonidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  2. ^ Hosner, Peter A.; Sheldon, Frederick H.; Lim, Haw Chuan; Moyle, Robert G. (2010). "Phylogeny and biogeography of the Asian trogons (Aves: Trogoniformes) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 57 (3): 1219–1225. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.09.008. PMID 20858547.
  3. ^ Collar, N. J.; S. van Balen (2002). "The Blue-tailed Trogon Harpactes (Apalharpactes) reinwardtii: species limits and conservation status". Forktail. 18: 121–125.