Spix's guan
Penelope jacquacu Spix, 1825
The spix's guan (Penelope jacquacu) is a species in the family Cracidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.45 kg to 1.58 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the spix's guan
- Weight
- 1.45 kg – 1.58 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Frugivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the spix's guan
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the spix's guan live?
Not recorded
What is the spix's guan?
Spix's guan (Penelope jacquacu) is a species of bird in the family Cracidae. It is "the prototypical cracid of the Amazonian lowlands." The common name commemorates the German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix (1782-1826).
From the Wikipedia article “Spix's guan” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spix%27s_guan&oldid=1380735513), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the spix's guan endangered?
The spix's guan is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the spix's guan classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGalliformes
- familyCracidae
- genusPenelope
- SpeciesPenelope jacquacu Spix, 1825
Other names and names in other languages (32)
- غوان سبيكسArabic
- guan de SpixCatalan
- guan proměnlivýCzech
- guan rezavobřichýCzech
- gwân SpixWelsh
- Spix´ PenelopehøneDanish
- SpixguanGerman
- Spix-GuanGerman
- spiksa penelopoEsperanto
- Pava amazónicaSpanish
- Pava de SpixSpanish
- häälis-lotthokoEstonian
- amazoniansakuFinnish
- Pénélope de SpixFrench
- spixov guanCroatian
- Guan di SpixItalian
- アマゾンシャクケイJapanese
- Spikso penelopėLithuanian
- Spix' SjakohoenDutch
- jungelhokkoNorwegian
- penelopa zielonawaPolish
- jacu-de-spixPortuguese
- guano-amazónicoPortuguese
- jacu-amazónicoPortuguese
- Спиксова пенелопаRussian
- Амазонская пенелопаRussian
- šuan jakuakuSlovak
- Spiksov guanSerbian
- amazonguanSwedish
- Amazon GuanıTurkish
- пенелопа амазонійськаUkrainian
- 棕胸冠雉Chinese
Relatives of the spix's guan
Other species in the same genus Penelope.
White-winged guan
Penelope albipennis
Crested guan
Penelope purpurascens
Andean guan
Penelope montagnii
Cauca guan
Penelope perspicax
Red-faced guan
Penelope dabbenei
Band-tailed guan
Penelope argyrotis
CompareSpix's guan vs White-winged guanSpix's guan vs Crested guanSpix's guan vs Andean guanSpix's guan vs Cauca guan
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the spix's guan?
An adult spix's guan weighs 1.45 kg – 1.58 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the spix's guan endangered?
The spix's guan is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the spix's guan?
The spix's guan (Penelope jacquacu) belongs to the family Cracidae in the order Galliformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Spix's guan (Penelope jacquacu). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spixs-guan
“Spix's guan (Penelope jacquacu).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/spixs-guan.
@misc{spixs_guan_2026,
title = {Spix's guan (Penelope jacquacu)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/spixs-guan},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}