NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Vampire Ground Finch
Geospiza septentrionalis Rothschild & E. Hartert, 1899
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.
Vampire finch
Peter Wilton · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Vampire ground finch (Geospiza septentrionalis) or Vampire finch is a small bird native to the Galápagos Islands. A member of the Darwin's finches group, it is known for its unique parasitic behavior of feeding on the blood of other birds. It is endemic to Wolf and Darwin Island. The species was previously considered a very distinct subspecies of the sharp-beaked ground finch (Geospiza difficilis), but the International Ornithologists' Union has split the species based on strong genetic evidence that they are not closely related, and divergences in morphology and song.
Wikipedia contributors, Vampire ground finch; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:54:47.085212+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Geospiza septentrionalis Rothschild & E. Hartert, 1899
- Name authority
- Rothschild & E. Hartert, 1899
- Common name
- Vampire 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 septentrionalis Rothschild & E. Hartert, 1899
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 |
| Sharp-beaked Ground FinchGeospiza difficilis Sharpe, 1888 | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis Rothschild & E. Hartert, 1899 Rothschild & E. Hartert, 1899 | synonym |
| Geospiza scandens septentrionalis Rothschild & E. Hartert, 1899 Rothschild & E. Hartert, 1899 | synonym |
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=997973 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:3FSC6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.