A striking case of deceptive woodpecker colouration: the threatened Helmeted Woodpecker Dryocopus galeatus belongs in the genus Celeus

LAMMERTINK, MARTJAN; KOPUCHIAN, CECILIA; TUBARO, PABLO L; BRANL, HANJA B; WINKLER, HANS

JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLGY

Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Año: 2016 vol. 157 p. 109 - 116

The Helmeted Woodpecker Dryocopus galeatusis a threatened species of the Atlantic Forest in southeasternSouth America. It has traditionally been placed inthe genus Dryocopus, but it shows similarities in plumageand structure with woodpeckers in the genus Celeus. Wesequenced mitochondrial and nuclear DNA that was sampledfrom live captured Helmeted Woodpeckers. We foundthat the Helmeted Woodpecker has a phylogenetic positionembedded within the genus Celeus, and recommend itstaxonomic treatment as Celeus galeatus. The HelmetedWoodpecker belongs to a clade within Celeus that includesKaempfer?s Woodpecker C. obrieni, Rufous-headedWoodpecker C. spectabilis, and Cream-coloured WoodpeckerC. flavus. It has the southernmost distribution rangeof the woodpeckers in this clade. The Helmeted Woodpeckeris sympatric throughout its range with LineatedWoodpecker Dryocopus lineatus and Robust WoodpeckerCampephilus robustus and these species from three differentgenera show a remarkable convergence in plumagecolours and patterns. With the inclusion of HelmetedWoodpecker in Celeus, this genus has four out of 15 specieson the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) red list, a higher proportion of red listed speciesthan in the woodpecker family overall.