Megapodius

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Pangalloanserae
Cladus: Galloanseres
Ordo: Galliformes
Subordo: Craci

Familia: Megapodiidae
Genus: Megapodius
Species: M. affinis - M. bernsteinii - M. cumingii - M. decollatus - M. eremita - M. forstenii - M. freycinet - M. geelvinkianus - M. laperouse - M. layardi - M. nicobariensis - M. pritchardii - M. reinwardt - M. tenimberensis
Name

Megapodius Gaimard, 1823
References

Ferussac's Bull. General Universel Annonces Nouvelles Sci. Paris 2 p. 450

Vernacular names
English: Scrubfowl
日本語: ツカツクリ科

The scrubfowl are the genus Megapodius of the mound-builders, stocky, medium-large chicken-like birds with small heads and large feet in the family Megapodiidae. They are found from south-east Asia to north Australia and islands in the west Pacific.

They do not incubate their eggs with their body heat in the orthodox way, but bury them. They are best known for building a massive mound of decaying vegetation, which the male attends, adding or removing litter to regulate the internal heat while the eggs hatch. The species in taxonomic order are:

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Megapodius pritchardii	Tongan megapode	Tonga
	Megapodius laperouse	Micronesian megapode	Palau and the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam
	Megapodius nicobariensis	Nicobar megapode	Nicobar Islands (India)
	Megapodius cumingii	Philippine megapode	The Philippines, northeastern Borneo, and Sulawesi
	Megapodius bernsteinii	Sula megapode	Banggai and Sula Islands between Sulawesi and the Maluku Islands in Indonesia
	Megapodius tenimberensis	Tanimbar megapode	Tanimbar Islands of Indonesia
	Megapodius freycinet	Dusky megapode	Maluku and Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia.
	Megapodius geelvinkianus	Biak scrubfowl	Biak, Mios Korwar, Numfor, Manim and Mios Numin in the West Papua region of Indonesia.
	Megapodius eremita	Melanesian megapode	Bismarck Archipelago (Papua New Guinea) and the Solomon Islands.
	Megapodius layardi	Vanuatu megapode	Vanuatu
	Megapodius decollatus	New Guinea scrubfowl	Northern New Guinea and adjacent islands
	Megapodius reinwardt	Orange-footed scrubfowl	Lesser Sunda Islands as well as southern New Guinea and northern Australia.

†Pile-builder scrubfowl (Megapodius molistructor)
†Viti Levu scrubfowl (Megapodius amissus)

In all of the above, the name "scrubfowl" is sometimes exchanged with "megapode". Traditionally, most have been listed as subspecies of M. freycinet, but today all major authorities consider this incorrect. Nevertheless, there are unresolved issues within the genus, and for example the taxon forstenii has been considered a subspecies of M. freycinet, a subspecies of M. cumingii, or a monotypic species. An additional species, the Moluccan megapode, has sometimes been placed in Megapodius, but today most place it in the genus Eulipoa instead. The maleo is also associated with these genera, and together the three form a group.
References

Peters, JL (1934). Check-list of birds of the world. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 3–7.