An argus, or argus pheasant, is a member of a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

in the tribe Pavonini of the family

Phasianidae Phasianidae is a family (biology), family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, grouse, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, Turkey bird, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular Game (hu ...

, containing two

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

that are closely related to

peafowl Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

Description

It has hundreds or thousands of tiny white spots on its

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

pattern, and thus its naming might have been in reference to the mythical hundred-eyed giant, Argus Panoptes. These birds have a body shape similar to that of a

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, however the males have long wing and tail feathers. Males are over six feet long while females are just under three feet long. Their feathers are brown or tan, with black mottling. The Male Argus have round, eye-like circles on their feathers. Males have quite long

tail The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolution, evolved to los ...

s, with some tails measuring nearly five feet long. Females choose males with the longest tails because it means they are the fastest and smartest of the other birds. This species of birds is primarily found in tropical regions, or places with lots of plant growth and rainfall. The Great Argus lives in

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, and

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. In Asia, they primarily inhabit the Malaysian Peninsula,

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, and south

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. Their population density depends on the region at hand. Populations in some areas are healthy and more common, while others are low and rare. The lifespan of the Argus in the wild is unknown, but zoos have reported the species living up to 20 years of age.

Taxonomy

Two

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

of birds are considered arguses: '' Rheinardia'' and '' Argusianus''. Within these genera there are a total of three recognized species. '' Argusianus'' has also been credited with a mysterious second species that is sometimes thought to have gone

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

, but this is most likely based on a simple genetic aberration in the established species. Both genera are thought to be sister taxa to one another and are otherwise most closely related to the

(genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo''), and slightly more distantly to the genus '' Tropicoperdix.''

Genus and distribution

*Genus '' Argusianus'' Rafinesque, 1815 ** Great argus (''Argusianus argus'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

1766 Events January–March * January 1 – Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new House of Stuart, Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Charles III, and figurehead for Jacobitism. * Januar ...

)) *Genus '' Rheinardia'' Maingonnat, 1882 ** Vietnamese crested argus (''Rheinardia ocellata'' ( Elliot, 1871)) ** Malayan crested argus (''Rheinardia nigrescens'' (

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

, 1902))

References

Pheasants Pavonini Bird common names Paraphyletic groups {{Phasiinae-stub