NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Purple Gallinule
Porphyrio martinica (Linnaeus, 1766)
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.
Lake Apopka Florida, USA
JeffreyGammon · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinica) is a species of swamphen found in the Americas. It is in the order Gruiformes, meaning "crane-like", an order which also contains cranes, rails, and crakes. The purple gallinule is a rail species, placing it into the family Rallidae. It is also known locally as the yellow-legged gallinule. The specific name martinica denotes "of Martinique".
Wikipedia contributors, American purple gallinule; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:35:43.031060+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Porphyrio martinica (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Common name
- Purple Gallinule
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Porphyrio
- 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
- orderGruiformes
- familyRallidae
- genusPorphyrio Brisson, 1760
- speciesPorphyrio martinica (Linnaeus, 1766)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Porphyrio. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Azure GallinulePorphyrio flavirostris (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| South Island TakahePorphyrio hochstetteri (A. B. Meyer, 1883) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-backed SwamphenPorphyrio indicus Horsfield, 1821 | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| New Caledonia GallinulePorphyrio kukwiedei Balouet & Olson, 1989 | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Australasian SwamphenPorphyrio melanotus Temminck, 1820 | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grey-headed SwamphenPorphyrio poliocephalus (Latham, 1801) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White SwamphenPorphyrio albus (Shaw, 1790) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Allen's GallinulePorphyrio alleni Thomson, 1842 | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| North Island TakahePorphyrio mantelli (Owen, 1848) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Porphyrio martinicus (Linnaeus, 1766) (Linnaeus, 1766) | synonym |
| Fulica martinica Linnaeus, 1766 Linnaeus, 1766 | synonym |
| Porphyrula martinica (Linnaeus, 1766) (Linnaeus, 1766) | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Middle America
North America
South America
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=707815 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:4LZ58. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.