Hypargos is a genus of small seed-eating birds in the family Estrildidae that are found in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Hypargos
Pink-throated twinspot (Hyapargos margaritatus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae
Genus: Hypargos
Reichenbach, 1862
Type species
Spermophaga margargaritata
pink-throated twinspot
Species

See text.

There are species with the common name of twinspot in other genera within the Estrildidae family.

Taxonomy

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The genus Hypargos was introduced in 1862 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach to accommodate the pink-throated twinspot.[1][2] The name combines the Ancient Greek hypo meaning "beneath" with Argos from Argus Panoptes, the many-eyed giant in Greek mythology.[3] The genus Hypargos is sister to the genus Euschistospiza which contains two more species with "twinspot" in their common name.[4][5]

Species

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The genus contains two species:[4]

Genus HypargosReichenbach, 1862 – two species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Red-throated twinspot

 

Hypargos niveoguttatus
(Peters, W, 1868)
Angola, Burundi, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia & Zimbabwe Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Pink-throated twinspot

 
Male
 
Female

Hypargos margaritatus
(Strickland, 1844)
Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 



References

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  1. ^ Reichenbach, Ludwig (1862). Die Singvögel als Fortsetzung de vollständigsten Naturgeschichte und zugleich als Central-Atlas für zoologische Gärten und für Thierfreunde. Ein durch zahlreiche illuminirte Abbildungen illustrirtes Handbuch zur richtigten Bestimmung und Pflege der Thiere aller Classen (in German). Dresden and Leipzig: Expedition Vollständigsten Naturgeschichte. pp. 21–22.
  2. ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1968). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 14. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 323.
  3. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  5. ^ Olsson, Urban; Alström, Per (2020). "A comprehensive phylogeny and taxonomic evaluation of the waxbills (Aves: Estrildidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 146: 106757. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106757. PMID 32028027.
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