''Piculus'' 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 n ...

of birds in the woodpecker family

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 region ...

that are found in Central and South America.

Taxonomy

The genus was introduced by the German naturalist

Johann Baptist von Spix Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix (9 February 1781 – 13 March 1826) was a German biologist. From his expedition to Brazil, he brought to Germany a large variety of specimens of plants, insects, mammals, birds, amphibians and fish. They constitute ...

in 1824. The

type species In 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 species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

was subsequently designated as the

golden-green woodpecker The golden-green woodpecker (''Piculus chrysochloros'') is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Panama and every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. ...

(''Piculus chrysochloros'') by the American ornithologist

Harry C. Oberholser Harry Church Oberholser (June 25, 1870 – December 25, 1963) was an American ornithologist. Biography Harry Oberholser was born to Jacob and Lavera S. Oberholser on June 25, 1870, in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Columbia University, but did ...

in 1923. The generic name is a diminutive of the Latin word ''Picus'' meaning "woodpecker". The genus forms part of the woodpecker subfamily

Picinae Picinae containing the true woodpeckers is one of three 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 na ...

and has a

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents 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 refer to ...

relationship to the genus ''

Dryocopus ''Dryocopus'' is a genus of large powerful woodpeckers, typically 35–45 cm in length. It has representatives in North and South America, Europe, and Asia; some South American species are endangered. It was believed to be closely related to ...

'' whose species are found in Eurasia and the Americas. The genus ''Piculus'' is a member of the

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

Picini and belongs to a clade that contains five genera: ''Colaptes'', ''Piculus'', '' Mulleripicus'', ''

'' and ''

Celeus Celeus or Keleus (Ancient Greek: Κελεός ''Keleós'') was the king of Eleusis in Greek mythology, husband of Metaneira and father of several daughters, who are called Callidice, Demo, Cleisidice and Callithoe in the ''Homeric Hymn to ...

''. The genus contains seven species: Five other species, formerly placed here, are now in ''

Colaptes ''Colaptes'' is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. The 14 species are found across the Americas. ''Colaptes'' woodpeckers typically have a brown or green back and wings with black barring, and a beige to yellowish underside, with ...

''.

References

Bird genera * Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the Neotropics Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{woodpecker-stub