| Mentocrex | |
|---|---|
| |
| Madagascar wood rail Mentocrex kioloides | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gruiformes |
| Family: | Sarothruridae |
| Genus: | Mentocrex Peters, JL, 1932 |
| Species | |
|
2, see text | |
Mentocrex is a genus of birds in the flufftail family, Sarothruridae. The genus includes two species, both of which are endemic to forests in Madagascar.
Species
The genus contains two species.1
- Madagascar forest rail (Mentocrex kioloides)
- Tsingy forest rail (Mentocrex beankaensis)
These two species were formerly placed in the genus Canirallus together with the grey-throated rail (Canirallus oculeus). A molecular genetic study published in 2019 found that the grey-throated rail is not closely related to the Madagascan and tsingy forest rails. The grey-throated rail is related to the Rallidae while the wood rails are closely related to the Sarothrura.2
References
References
- Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Flufftails, finfoots, rails, trumpeters, cranes, limpkin". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- Boast, A.P.; et al. (2019). "Mitochondrial genomes from New Zealand's extinct adzebills (Aves: Aptornithidae: Aptornis) support a sister-taxon relationship with the Afro-Madagascan Sarothruridae". Diversity. 11 (24): 24. doi:10.3390/d11020024. hdl:2440/119533.