Siphonorhis

Siphonorhis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Clade:	Strisores
Order:	Caprimulgiformes
Family:	Caprimulgidae
Subfamily:	Caprimulginae
Genus:	Siphonorhis P.L. Sclater, 1861
Type species
Caprimulgus americanus Linnaeus, 1758

Siphonorhis is a genus of nightjars, known as the Caribbean pauraques, in the family Caprimulgidae. All species are endemic to islands of the Greater Antilles, with only one confirmed to be extant.

Taxonomy

The genus Siphonorhis was introduced in 1861 by the English zoologist Philip Sclater with Caprimulgus americanus Linnaeus, 1758, the Jamaican poorwill, as the type species. ^{[1] [2]} The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek σιφων/siphōn, σιφωνος/siphōnos meaning "tube" and ῥις/rhis, ῥινος/rhinos meaning "nostrils". ^[3]

Species

It contains the following two species: ^[4]

• Jamaican poorwill or Jamaican pauraque (Siphonorhis americana), possibly extinct
• Least poorwill or least pauraque (Siphonorhis brewsteri), endemic to Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti)

An additional species, the Cuban pauraque (†Siphonorhis daiquiri) is known only from fossil material. ^[5]

References

1. Sclater, Philip Lutley (1861). "List of a collection of birds made by the late Mr. W. Osburn in Jamaica, with notes". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London: 69-82 [77].
2. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1940). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 4. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 194.
3. Jobling, James A. "Siphonorhis". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
4. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Frogmouths, Oilbird, potoos, nightjars". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
5. Olson, Storrs L. (1985). "A new species of Siphonorhis from Quaternary cave deposits in Cuba (Aves: Caprimulgidae)". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 98 (2): 526–532.