NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
New Guinea Megapode
Megapodius decollatus Oustalet, 1878
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 New Guinea scrubfowl or New Guinea megapode (Megapodius decollatus) is a species of bird in the family Megapodiidae. It is found in New Guinea, mostly in the northern half. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. This species was formerly known as Megapodius affinis but Roselaar, 1994 showed that Megapodius affinis A. B. Meyer, 1874 refers to M. reinwardt.
Wikipedia contributors, New Guinea scrubfowl; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:17:35.394554+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Megapodius decollatus Oustalet, 1878
- Name authority
- Oustalet, 1878
- Common name
- New Guinea Megapode
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Megapodiidae
- Genus
- Megapodius
- 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
- familyMegapodiidae
- genusMegapodius Gaimard, 1823
- speciesMegapodius decollatus Oustalet, 1878
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Megapodius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Nicobar MegapodeMegapodius nicobariensis Blyth, 1846 | MegapodiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Orange-footed MegapodeMegapodius reinwardt Dumont, 1823 | MegapodiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tanimbar MegapodeMegapodius tenimberensis P. L. Sclater, 1883 | MegapodiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sula MegapodeMegapodius bernsteinii Schlegel, 1866 | MegapodiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Melanesian MegapodeMegapodius eremita Hartlaub, 1868 | MegapodiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Biak MegapodeMegapodius geelvinkianus A. B. Meyer, 1874 | MegapodiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| La Perouse's MegapodeMegapodius laperouse Gaimard, 1823 | MegapodiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Vanuatu MegapodeMegapodius layardi Tristram, 1879 | MegapodiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Niuafoou ScrubfowlMegapodius pritchardii G. R. Gray, 1864 | MegapodiidaeChordata | 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=715228 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:72W7N. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.