Green Peafowl

SCI Name:  Pavo muticus
Protonym:  Pavo muticus Syst.Nat.ed.12 ed.12 p.268
Taxonomy:  Galliformes / Phasianidae / Pavo
Taxonomy Code:  grepea1
Type Locality:  Japan, error = Java.
Author:  Linnaeus
Publish Year:  1766
IUCN Status:  Endangered

DEFINITIONS

PAVO
(Phasianidae; Ϯ Blue Peacock P. cristatus) L. pavo, pavonis  peacock; "87. PAVO.  Caput pennis rectis revolutis tectum.  Pennæ dorsales elongatæ." (Linnaeus 1758); "Pavo Linné, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, p. 156. Type, by tautonymy, Pavo cristatus Linné. (Pavo, prebinomial specific name in synonymy)." (Peters 1934, II, 133). Linnaeus's Pavo comprised two species (P. cristatus, P. bicalcaratus). The Blue Peacock was well-known to the ancients, appearing on coins and in literature, and as a delicacy on the tables of the wealthy.
Synon. Pavianus, Spiciferus.

pavo
L. pavo, pavonis  peacock.
● ex “Pavaneur” of Levaillant 1803, pl. 122 (syn. Acrocephalus schoenobaenus).

mutica / muticus
L. muticus  docked, curtailed  < mutilus maimed  < mutilare  to cut off.  The Green Peafowl was originally only known in Europe by means of a painting sent by Go-Yōzei Emperor of Japan to Pope Innocent IX in 1591; “the legs are ash coloured, and not furnished with spurs  ...  possibly they might have been overlooked by the painter” (Latham 1783) (Pavo).

SUBSPECIES

Green Peafowl (spicifer)
SCI Name: Pavo muticus spicifer
spicifer / spicifera / spiciferum
L. spicifer  spike-bearing  < spica  spike, point; -fera  bearing  < ferre  to carry (cf. spicifer wearing ears of corn).

Green Peafowl (imperator)
SCI Name: Pavo muticus imperator
imperator
L. imperator, imperatoris  emperor, commander  < imperare  to rule over (e.g. imperious, impressive).
● "Clytoceyx rex imperator nov. subsp.  ...  As to the coloration this example agrees with Clytoceyx rex Sharpe  ...  It is however considerably larger and has also a much heavier bill.  ...  The difference in size is so striking, that our specimen must belong to a different form, which I don't hesitate to name here" (van Oort 1909) (subsp. Clytoceyx rex).
● ex “Traquet Commandeur” of Levaillant 1806, pl. 189 (syn. Myrmecocichla nigra).

Green Peafowl (muticus)
SCI Name: Pavo muticus muticus
mutica / muticus
L. muticus  docked, curtailed  < mutilus maimed  < mutilare  to cut off.  The Green Peafowl was originally only known in Europe by means of a painting sent by Go-Yōzei Emperor of Japan to Pope Innocent IX in 1591; “the legs are ash coloured, and not furnished with spurs  ...  possibly they might have been overlooked by the painter” (Latham 1783) (Pavo).