NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black-backed Swamphen
Porphyrio indicus Horsfield, 1821
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 black-backed swamphen (Porphyrio indicus) is a species of swamphen occurring from southeast Asia to Sulawesi and Borneo. It used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen, which it resembles, but has a large shield, black upperparts, and the side of the head is blackish.
It tends to migrate away from urbanization and other human activity. It lives in wetlands, preferring those with slow-flowing water.
Wikipedia contributors, Black-backed swamphen; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:48:19.136261+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Porphyrio indicus Horsfield, 1821
- Name authority
- Horsfield, 1821
- Common name
- Black-backed Swamphen
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Porphyrio
- 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
- orderGruiformes
- familyRallidae
- genusPorphyrio Brisson, 1760
- speciesPorphyrio indicus Horsfield, 1821
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Porphyrio. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Azure GallinulePorphyrio flavirostris (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| South Island TakahePorphyrio hochstetteri (A. B. Meyer, 1883) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| New Caledonia GallinulePorphyrio kukwiedei Balouet & Olson, 1989 | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Australasian SwamphenPorphyrio melanotus Temminck, 1820 | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grey-headed SwamphenPorphyrio poliocephalus (Latham, 1801) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White SwamphenPorphyrio albus (Shaw, 1790) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Allen's GallinulePorphyrio alleni Thomson, 1842 | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| North Island TakahePorphyrio mantelli (Owen, 1848) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Purple GallinulePorphyrio martinica (Linnaeus, 1766) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Porphyrio porphyrio indicus Horsfield, 1821 Horsfield, 1821 | 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=1244218 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:CPCMH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.