| Nkulengu rail | |
|---|---|
 | |
| in Ankasa Forest Reserve, Ghana | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gruiformes |
| Family: | Rallidae |
| Genus: | Himantornis Hartlaub, 1855 |
| Species: | H. haematopus |
| Binomial name | |
| Himantornis haematopus Hartlaub, 1855 | |
The Nkulengu rail (Himantornis haematopus) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It belongs to the monotypic genus Himantornis. [2]
For long, this singular rail was considered a member of a distinct subfamily Himantornithinae. This was based on the assumption that it was a sort of "living fossil", as it resembles other Gruiformes rather than other rails in many traits. But as it seems, the supposed plesiomorphies are actually atavistic or otherwise re-evolved traits in reaction to its African rainforest habitat. Its closest living relatives seem to be the Asian genera Amaurornis, Gallicrex, Megacrex , and the widespread African Aenigmatolimnas , with Megacrex and Himantornis representing ancient and ecologically quite similar lineages at the extreme ends of the group's distribution. [3] However a later genetic study found that it was basal to the radiation containing Porzana , Tribonyx , Gallinula and Fulica. [4]
It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Uganda. [1]
It is notoriously difficult to visually observe, preferring to hide, but has a loud and distinctive call often made in pairs. [5]
