''Leuconotopicus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

woodpeckers Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions. ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Picidae Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions. ...

native to

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Taxonomy

The genus was erected by the French ornithologist

Alfred Malherbe Alfred Malherbe (14 July 1804 – 14 August 1865) was a French magistrate and amateur naturalist born in Mauritius to Pierre Marie François Malherbe and Rosalie Le Meusnier Molineuf. The family originally came from Metz. Alfred became the adm ...

in 1845 with

Strickland's woodpecker Strickland's woodpecker (''Leuconotopicus stricklandi'') is a medium-sized species of woodpecker endemic to Mexico. The Arizona woodpecker (''L. arizonae'') was formerly considered the northern subspecies of this bird until the 42nd supplement ...

(''Leuconotopicus stricklandi'') as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. The name ''Leuconotopicus'' combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''leukos'' meaning "white", ''nōton'' meaning "back" and ''pikos'' meaning "woodpecker". The genus is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

to the genus ''

Veniliornis ''Veniliornis'' is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. They are native to the Neotropics. Taxonomy The genus was introduced by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854. The word ''Veniliornis'' combines the name o ...

'' and is one of eight genera placed in the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Melanerpini within the woodpecker

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Picinae Picinae containing the true woodpeckers is one of four subfamilies that make up the woodpecker family Picidae. True woodpeckers are found over much of the world, but do not occur in Madagascar or Australasia. Woodpeckers gained their English nam ...

. The species now placed in this genus were previously assigned to ''

Picoides ''Picoides'' is a genus of woodpeckers (family Picidae) that are native to Eurasia and North America, commonly known as three-toed woodpeckers. Taxonomy The genus ''Picoides'' was introduced by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépè ...

''. The genus contains the following six species:

References

Bird genera Taxa named by Alfred Malherbe {{woodpecker-stub