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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Malagasy Black Swift

Apus balstoni (Bartlett, 1880)

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.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Apus balstoni (Bartlett, 1880)
Name authority
(Bartlett, 1880)
Common name
Malagasy Black Swift
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Apodiformes
Family
Apodidae
Genus
Apus
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.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classAves
  9. orderApodiformes
  10. familyApodidae
  11. subfamilyApodinae
  12. genusApus Scopoli, 1777
  13. speciesApus balstoni (Bartlett, 1880)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Apus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Pallid SwiftApus pallidus (Shelley, 1870)ApodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Plain SwiftApus unicolor (Jardine, 1830)ApodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Salim Ali's SwiftApus salimalii Lack, 1958ApodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Fernando Po SwiftApus sladeniae (Ogilvie-Grant, 1904)ApodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Little SwiftApus affinis (J. E. Gray, 1830)ApodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
African Black SwiftApus barbatus (P. L. Sclater, 1866)ApodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Forbes-Watson's SwiftApus berliozi Ripley, 1966ApodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Bradfield's SwiftApus bradfieldi (Roberts, 1926)ApodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Bates's SwiftApus batesi (Sharpe, 1904)ApodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Nyanza SwiftApus niansae (Reichenow, 1887)ApodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Fork-tailed SwiftApus pacificus (Latham, 1801)ApodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
House SwiftApus nipalensis (Hodgson, 1837)ApodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 90 records assigned to Apodidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Africa

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.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=555012 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:8HTZD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.