Siphonorhis is a genus of , known as the Caribbean pauraques, in the family Caprimulgidae. All species are endemic to islands of the Greater Antilles, with only one confirmed to be extant.
Taxonomy
The genus
Siphonorhis was introduced in 1861 by the English zoologist
Philip Sclater
with
Caprimulgus americanus Carl Linnaeus, 1758, the Jamaican poorwill, as the
type species.
The genus name is derived from
Ancient Greek σιφων/
siphōn, σιφωνος/
siphōnos meaning "tube" and ῥις/
rhis, ῥινος/
rhinos meaning "nostrils".
Species
It contains the following two species:
-
Jamaican poorwill or Jamaican pauraque ( Siphonorhis americana), possibly extinct
-
Least poorwill or least pauraque ( Siphonorhis brewsteri), endemic to Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti)
An additional species, the Cuban pauraque († Siphonorhis daiquiri) is known only from fossil material.
