Kingdom Animalia Family Fringillidae Scientific name Spinus Higher classification Finch | Order Passeriformes Subfamily Carduelinae Phylum Chordata Rank Genus | |
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Mass Lesser goldfinch: 8 – 12 g Length Lesser goldfinch: 9 – 12 cm, Andean siskin: 9.5 – 11 cm Lower classifications Eurasian siskin, American Goldfinch, Red siskin, Lesser goldfinch, Hooded siskin | ||
Spinus is a genus of passerine birds in the finch family. It contains the North and South American siskins and goldfinches. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek spinos, a name for a now-unidentifiable bird.
All of the species in the genus other than the Tibetan serin were formerly included in the genus Carduelis. They were moved to the resurrected genus Spinus based on phylogenetic studies of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. The Tibetan serin was formerly placed in the genus Serinus. The Eurasian siskin and the Tibetan serin are the only species from the Old World included in the group.
The name Spinus was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch.
Species
The genus contains 20 species:
References
Spinus (genus) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA