Phoenicopterus

Phoenicopterus is a genus of birds in the flamingo family Phoenicopteridae.

Taxonomy

The genus Phoenicopterus was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae to accommodate a single species, the American flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The genus name comes from Ancient Greek φοῖνιξ (phoînix), meaning "crimson", and πτερόν (pterón), meaning "feather".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

"Leguat's giant"

Illustration of "Leguat's giant", a bird from Mauritius now believed by some researchers to be based on sightings of the greater flamingo

A large bird described from Mauritius and Rodrigues and illustrated by the traveller Francois Leguat in 1708 was speculated to represent a large rail by Hermann Schlegel in 1857 and named Leguatia gigantea, "Leguat's giant", but later research indicates that it was probably based on sightings of Phoenicopterus flamingos that are known to have lived there, possibly the greater flamingo.<ref name="Extinct Birds2017">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Cowles87">Template:Cite book</ref>

Species

The genus contains three extant species:<ref name=ioc>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Species table