| Collared nightjar | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Caprimulgiformes |
| Family: | Caprimulgidae |
| Genus: | Gactornis Han, Robbins & Braun, M, 2010 |
| Species: | G. enarratus |
| Binomial name | |
| Gactornis enarratus (Gray, GR, 1871) | |
| Synonyms | |
Caprimulgus enarratus | |
The collared nightjar (Gactornis enarratus) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is endemic to Madagascar.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. [2]
The collared nightjar was formally described in 1871 by the English zoologist George Gray with the binomial name Caprimulgus enarratus based on a specimen collected in Madagascar. [3] [4] The specific epithet is Latin meaning "explained in detail". [5]
A molecular phylogenetic study by Kin-Lan Han and collaborators published in 2010 found that the collared nightjar was not closely related to any other species of nightjar. The authors therefore introduced a new genus Gactornis to accommodate the species. The genus name combines the four single letter abbreviations for the DNA nucleotides (G, A, C, T for guanine, adenine, cytosine, thymine) and the Ancient Greek word ornis meaning "bird". [6] The species in monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [7]