NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Shining-blue Kingfisher
Alcedo quadribrachys Bonaparte, 1850
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 shining-blue kingfisher (Alcedo quadribrachys) is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is found in tropical Africa.
The shining-blue kingfisher was described of by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850 and given its current binomial name Alcedo quadribrachys. The name Alcedo is the Latin word for a "kingfisher". The specific epithet quadribrachys is from the Latin quadri- for "four" and brachium meaning "arms" or in this case "toes".
The shining-blue kingfisher is one of eight species in the genus Alcedo and is most closely related to the half-collared kingfisher (Alcedo semitorquata).
There are two subspecies:
A. q. quadribrachys Bonaparte, 1850 – Senegal and Gambia to west central Nigeria
A. q. guentheri Sharpe, 1892 – southern Nigeria to Kenya, northwest Zambia and north Angola
Wikipedia contributors, Shining-blue kingfisher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:58:29.706085+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Alcedo quadribrachys Bonaparte, 1850
- Name authority
- Bonaparte, 1850
- Common name
- Shining-blue Kingfisher
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Alcedinidae
- Genus
- Alcedo
- 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
- orderCoraciiformes
- familyAlcedinidae
- subfamilyAlcedininae
- genusAlcedo Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesAlcedo quadribrachys Bonaparte, 1850
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Alcedo. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Blyth's KingfisherAlcedo hercules Laubmann, 1917 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis (Linnaeus, 1758) | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue-eared KingfisherAlcedo meninting Horsfield, 1821 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cerulean KingfisherAlcedo coerulescens Vieillot, 1818 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue-banded KingfisherAlcedo euryzona Temminck, 1830 | AlcedinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Half-collared KingfisherAlcedo semitorquata Swainson, 1823 | AlcedinidaeChordata | 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=554551 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:5TW6Z. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.