NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Copper Pheasant
Syrmaticus soemmerringii (Temminck, 1830)
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 copper pheasant (Syrmaticus soemmerringii), also known as Soemmerring's pheasant or yamadori (ヤマドリ), is a pheasant endemic to the Japanese archipelago. The scientific name commemorates the German scientist Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring. It is the official bird of multiple Japanese prefectures, cities, and towns. It was commonly hunted for sport throughout the 20th century.
Its population has been in consistent decline since the 1970s due to factors including habitat destruction and predation, but the most widely cited cause is overhunting.
Wikipedia contributors, Copper pheasant; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:44:28.513861+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Syrmaticus soemmerringii (Temminck, 1830)
- Name authority
- (Temminck, 1830)
- Common name
- Copper Pheasant
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Syrmaticus
- 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
- orderGalliformes
- familyPhasianidae
- genusSyrmaticus Wagler, 1832
- speciesSyrmaticus soemmerringii (Temminck, 1830)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Syrmaticus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Mikado PheasantSyrmaticus mikado (Ogilvie-Grant, 1906) | PhasianidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Reeves's PheasantSyrmaticus reevesii (J. E. Gray, 1829) | PhasianidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Elliot's PheasantSyrmaticus ellioti (Swinhoe, 1872) | PhasianidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bar-tailed PheasantSyrmaticus humiae (Hume, 1881) | PhasianidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Syrmaticus soemmerringi (Temminck, 1830) (Temminck, 1830) | 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=176097 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:542SK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.