NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black Crake
Zapornia flavirostra (Swainson, 1837)
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 crake (Zapornia flavirostra) is a waterbird in the rail and crake family, Rallidae. It breeds in most of sub-Saharan Africa except in very arid areas. It undertakes some seasonal movements in those parts of its range which are subject to drought. No subspecies have been described. It appears that the oldest available name for this species is actually Rallus niger J. F. Gmelin, 1788, but Swainson believed that the earlier name was unidentifiable, and his own has since become well embedded in the literature.
Wikipedia contributors, Black crake; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:17:18.598040+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Zapornia flavirostra (Swainson, 1837)
- Name authority
- (Swainson, 1837)
- Common name
- Black Crake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Zapornia
- 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
- genusZapornia Leach, 1816
- speciesZapornia flavirostra (Swainson, 1837)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Zapornia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| St Helena RailZapornia astrictocarpus (Olson, 1973) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Black-tailed CrakeZapornia bicolor (Walden, 1872) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kosrae CrakeZapornia monasa (Kittlitz, 1858) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Sakalava RailZapornia olivieri (G. Grandidier & Berlioz, 1929) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Laysan RailZapornia palmeri (Frohawk, 1892) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Little CrakeZapornia parva (Scopoli, 1769) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Band-bellied CrakeZapornia paykullii (Ljungh, 1813) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Limnocorax flavirostra (Swainson, 1837) (Swainson, 1837) | synonym |
| Amaurornis flavirostra (Swainson, 1837) (Swainson, 1837) | synonym |
| Gallinula flavirostra Swainson, 1837 Swainson, 1837 | 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=1244229 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:CPPDH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.