CreatureData

Spot-flanked gallinule

Porphyriops melanops (Vieillot, 1819)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The spot-flanked gallinule (Porphyriops melanops) is a species in the family Rallidae, order Gruiformes. Recorded adults weigh about 191 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Spot-flanked gallinule (Porphyriops melanops)
Photo: Cláudio Dias Timm from Rio Grande do Sul · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the spot-flanked gallinule

Weight
191 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Herbivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
5.7src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the spot-flanked gallinule live?

Not recorded

What is the spot-flanked gallinule?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The spot-flanked gallinule (Porphyriops melanops) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is monotypic in the genus Porphyriops. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

Its natural habitats are swamps and freshwater lakes, but it is able to survive in properly managed artificial ponds. Its population has declined significantly in recent decades.

The spot-flanked gallinule has a W chromosome that is larger than its Z chromosome, which is unique among bird species.

From the Wikipedia article “Spot-flanked gallinule” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spot-flanked_gallinule&oldid=1383672722), 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 spot-flanked gallinule endangered?

The spot-flanked gallinule is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. 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 spot-flanked gallinule classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGruiformes
  5. familyRallidae
  6. genusPorphyriops
  7. SpeciesPorphyriops melanops (Vieillot, 1819)

Synonyms Gallinula melanops, Porphyriops melanops melanops, Porphyrios melanops, Rallus melanops

Other names and names in other languages (40)
  • دجاجة الماء منقطة الجانبArabic
  • دجاجة الماء منقطة الأجنحةArabic
  • polla caranegraCatalan
  • slípka skvrnitobokáCzech
  • Hvidplettet RørhøneDanish
  • MaskenpfuhlhuhnGerman
  • MaskenteichhuhnGerman
  • makulflanka galinoloEsperanto
  • Tingua moteadaSpanish
  • Gallineta pintadaSpanish
  • Polla pintadaSpanish
  • Pollona pintadaSpanish
  • TagüitaSpanish
  • Tingua de pico verdeSpanish
  • naerutaitEstonian
  • nauruliejukanaFinnish
  • Gallinule à face noireFrench
  • Marouette à face noireFrench
  • סופית מכותמתHebrew
  • sivoprsa mlakušaCroatian
  • álarcos vízityúkHungarian
  • Gallinella fianchimacchiatiItalian
  • ワキジロバンJapanese
  • dėmėtašonė vištelėLithuanian
  • ZwartkopwaterhoenDutch
  • flekksivhøneNorwegian
  • kureczka kropkowanaPolish
  • frango-d'água-carijóPortuguese
  • frango-de-água-carijóPortuguese
  • galinha-d'água-carijóPortuguese
  • galinha-d'água-pintalgadaPortuguese
  • Масковая камышницаRussian
  • Пятнистая камышницаRussian
  • sliepočka prskanáSlovak
  • Barska kokica pegavog trbuhaSerbian
  • fläcksidig rörhönaSwedish
  • Benekli SutavuğuTurkish
  • курочка плямистобокаUkrainian
  • 斑胁水鸡Chinese
  • 點脇水雞Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the spot-flanked gallinule

Other species in the same family Rallidae.

LC, Least Concern
Water rail (Rallus aquaticus)

Water rail

Rallus aquaticus

Rallidae

CompareSpot-flanked gallinule vs Eurasian cootSpot-flanked gallinule vs Common moorhenSpot-flanked gallinule vs Corn crakeSpot-flanked gallinule vs Water rail

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the spot-flanked gallinule?

An adult spot-flanked gallinule weighs 191 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the spot-flanked gallinule endangered?

The spot-flanked gallinule 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 spot-flanked gallinule?

The spot-flanked gallinule (Porphyriops melanops) belongs to the family Rallidae in the order Gruiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Spot-flanked gallinule (Porphyriops melanops). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spot-flanked-gallinule

MLA

“Spot-flanked gallinule (Porphyriops melanops).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/spot-flanked-gallinule.

BibTeX
@misc{spot_flanked_gallinule_2026,
  title = {Spot-flanked gallinule (Porphyriops melanops)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/spot-flanked-gallinule},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}