NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sharp-beaked Ground Finch
Geospiza difficilis Sharpe, 1888
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Exhibit in the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt - Darmstadt, Germany.
Daderot · CC0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The sharp-beaked ground finch (Geospiza difficilis) is a species of bird in the Darwin's finch group of the tanager family Thraupidae, and it is native to the Galápagos Islands. It has a mass of around 20 grams (0.71 oz) and the males have black plumage, while females have streaked grey plumage. This finch was described by Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1888.
This relatively small, slender-billed finch is found on Fernandina, Santiago, Pinta, formerly Santa Cruz and Floreana. It breeds in the humid highlands and disperses afterwards. It is possible it still occurs on Isabela.
Both the vampire ground finch and the Genovesa ground finch were considered subspecies. The International Ornithologists' Union have split them based on strong genetic, morphological, and song evidence, while other taxonomic authorities still consider them conspecific.
Wikipedia contributors, Sharp-beaked ground finch; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:15:01.052936+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Geospiza difficilis Sharpe, 1888
- Name authority
- Sharpe, 1888
- Common name
- Sharp-beaked Ground Finch
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Geospiza
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyThraupidae
- genusGeospiza Gould, 1837
- speciesGeospiza difficilis Sharpe, 1888
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Geospiza. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Espanola Cactus FinchGeospiza conirostris Ridgway, 1890 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Large Ground FinchGeospiza magnirostris Gould, 1837 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Genovesa Ground FinchGeospiza acutirostris Ridgway, 1894 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Medium Ground FinchGeospiza fortis Gould, 1837 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Small Ground FinchGeospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Genovesa Cactus FinchGeospiza propinqua Ridgway, 1894 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Common Cactus FinchGeospiza scandens (Gould, 1837) | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Vampire Ground FinchGeospiza septentrionalis Rothschild & E. Hartert, 1899 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=560236 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3FSBY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.