''Bycanistes'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of medium to large, primarily
frugivorous
A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance an ...
hornbills (family
Bucerotidae
Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandibl ...
) found in the forests and woodlands of
Sub-Saharan Africa. They have often been included in the genus ''
Ceratogymna'', but today most authorities consider them separate. All species in this genus have black and white
plumage. The plumage of the sexes is similar, but the
casque
Casque is a French word for helmet. It can refer to:
* Casque (anatomy), an enlargement on the beaks of some species of birds, including many hornbills
*Hornbill ivory, the casque of the helmeted hornbill, collected as a decorative material
* S. C ...
of the male is larger than that of the female.
Recent genetic data shows that ''Bycanistes'' is the sister taxon to
ground hornbills, this clade having diverged from the rest of the hornbill lineage early on.
[Woodruff, D. S. & Srikwan, S. 2011. Molecular genetics and the conservation of hornbills in fragmented landscapes. In Poonswad, P. (ed) The Asian Hornbills: Ecology and Conservation. National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Bangkok, pp. 257-264.] ''Bycanistes'' is thought to represent an early African lineage, while the remaining
Bucerotiformes
Bucerotiformes is an order of birds that contains the hornbills, ground hornbills, hoopoes and wood hoopoes. These birds were previously classified as members of Coraciiformes. The clade is distributed in Africa, Asia, Europe and Melanesia.
...
evolved in Asia.
Species
References
* Kemp, A. C. (2001). "Family Bucerotidae (Hornbills)". pp. 436–523 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J. eds. (2001). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World.'' Vol. 6. Mousebirds to Hornbills. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
*
Bird genera
Taxa named by Jean Cabanis
{{Coraciiformes-stub