NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Greater Bird-of-paradise
Paradisaea apoda Linnaeus, 1758
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The greater bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea apoda) is a bird-of-paradise in the genus Paradisaea.
Carl Linnaeus named the species Paradisaea apoda, or "legless bird-of-paradise", because early trade skins to reach Europe were prepared without wings or feet by the indigenous New Guinean people; this led to the misconception that these birds were beautiful visitors from paradise that were kept aloft by their plumes and never touched the earth until death.
Wikipedia contributors, Greater bird-of-paradise; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:00:23.699979+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Paradisaea apoda Linnaeus, 1758
- Name authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Common name
- Greater Bird-of-paradise
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Paradisaeidae
- Genus
- Paradisaea
- 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
- familyParadisaeidae Vigors, 1825
- genusParadisaea Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesParadisaea apoda Linnaeus, 1758
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Paradisaea. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Goldie's Bird-of-paradiseParadisaea decora Salvin & Godman, 1883 | ParadisaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser Bird-of-paradiseParadisaea minor Shaw, 1809 | ParadisaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red Bird-of-paradiseParadisaea rubra Daudin, 1800 | ParadisaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Emperor Bird-of-paradiseParadisaea guilielmi Cabanis, 1888 | ParadisaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Raggiana Bird-of-paradiseParadisaea raggiana P. L. Sclater, 1873 | ParadisaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Paradisaea apoda apoda Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Paradisaea apoda novaeguineae d'Albertis & Salvadori, 1879 d'Albertis & Salvadori, 1879 | 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.
- Linnaeus, & Carolus. (1758). Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, Cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis, 10th Edition, Vol. 1. 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:4CTLC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.