NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Emerald Starling
Lamprotornis iris (Oustalet, 1879)
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 emerald starling (Lamprotornis iris), also known as the iris glossy starling, is a species of starling occurring in West Africa, where it inhabits lowlands and savanna of Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and Sierra Leone. It was formerly sometimes treated in its own monotypic genus Coccycolius, but genetic studies have now shown it to be a typical member of the glossy starlings in the genus Lamprotornis.
Wikipedia contributors, Emerald starling; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:25:49.647868+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lamprotornis iris (Oustalet, 1879)
- Name authority
- (Oustalet, 1879)
- Common name
- Emerald Starling
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sturnidae
- Genus
- Lamprotornis
- 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
- familySturnidae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusLamprotornis Temminck, 1820
- speciesLamprotornis iris (Oustalet, 1879)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lamprotornis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Burchell's StarlingLamprotornis australis (A. Smith, 1836) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pied StarlingLamprotornis bicolor (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Long-tailed Glossy StarlingLamprotornis caudatus (P. L. S. Müller, 1776) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bronze-tailed StarlingLamprotornis chalcurus Nordmann, 1835 | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Greater Blue-eared StarlingLamprotornis chalybaeus Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1828 | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hildebrandt's StarlingLamprotornis hildebrandti (Cabanis, 1878) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Meves's StarlingLamprotornis mevesii (Wahlberg, 1856) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chestnut-bellied StarlingLamprotornis pulcher (P. L. S. Müller, 1776) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Splendid StarlingLamprotornis splendidus (Vieillot, 1822) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Superb StarlingLamprotornis superbus Rüppell, 1845 | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sharp-tailed StarlingLamprotornis acuticaudus (Barboza du Bocage, 1869) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-crowned StarlingLamprotornis albicapillus (Blyth, 1855) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Coccycolius iris Oustalet, 1879 Oustalet, 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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=915892 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:6NX6F. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.