Sparrow-weaver
White-browed sparrow-weaver, Plocepasser mahali
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Ploceidae
Genus: Plocepasser
A. Smith, 1836
Type species
Plocepasser mahali[1]
A. Smith, 1836
Synonyms
  • Philagrus
  • Ploceopasser
  • Ploceuspasser[2]

The sparrow-weavers (Plocepasser) are a genus of birds in the family Ploceidae (weavers), but some taxonomic authorities place them in the family Passeridae (Old World sparrows).

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus Plocepasser contains the following species:[2]

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Plocepasser mahali White-browed sparrow-weaver northern South Africa, its range includes Botswana, northern and central Namibia, and western Zimbabwe
Plocepasser superciliosus Chestnut-crowned sparrow-weaver Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda.
Plocepasser donaldsoni Donaldson Smith's sparrow-weaver Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.
Plocepasser rufoscapulatus Chestnut-backed sparrow-weaver Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, and Zambia.

Phylogeny

Based on recent DNA-analysis (which only included P. mahali), the genus Plocepasser belongs to the group of sparrow weavers (subfamily Plocepasserinae), and is most related to the clade that consists of Philetairus socius and the genus Pseudonigrita. This clade is sister to the most basic genus of the subfamily, Sporopipes.[3] Provided that genera are correct clades, the following tree expresses current insights.

family Ploceidae
subfamily Amblyospizinae

Amblyospiza albifrons

subfamily Plocepasserinae

Sporopipes

Plocepasser

Philetairus socius

Pseudonigrita

subfamily Bubalornithinae

Dinemellia dinemelli

Bubalornis

subfamily Ploceinae

all other weaverbirds

References

  1. ^ "Ploceidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ^ a b "Plocepasser Smith, A, 1836". Global Biodivedrsity Information Facility. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
  3. ^ De Silva, Thilina N.; Peterson, A. Townsend; Bates, John M.; Fernandoa, Sumudu W.; Girard, Matthew G. (2017). "Phylogenetic relationships of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae): A first robust phylogeny based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 109: 21–32. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.12.013. PMID 28012957.

External links


Family: Ploceidae
Genera of finches, sparrows and tanagers
Taxon identifiers
Categories