Picus (Campothera [sic]) mombassicus G.A. Fischer & Reichenow, 1884c: 262, 1758

Frahnert, Sylke, Turner, Donald A. & Bracker, Cordula, 2023, Type specimens and type localities of birds (Aves) collected by Gustav Adolf Fischer (1848 - 1886) in East Africa, Zootaxa 5334 (1), pp. 1-84 : 22

Picus (Campothera [sic]) mombassicus G.A. Fischer & Reichenow, 1884c: 262 .

Now: Campethera mombassica G.A. Fischer & Reichenow, 1884c . See Short & Horne (1988); but see also Peters (1948: 119).

Holotype: ZMB 23414 (Fischer no. 102), skin, male, collected at “ Mombassa ”, 10.07.[1877].

Type locality: “ Mombassa ” [ Mombasa Island, Mombasa County, Kenya], from the original description and locality of the holotype.

Remarks: In the original description no type was chosen, nor were there inventory numbers for specimens provided, but measurements for one male, the locality “ Mombassa ” and the date 10.07.1877 were given.As the only Fischer specimen of this species at the ZMB or ZMH, and with collecting data fitting the description, this specimen is regarded as the holotype. It is also the only specimen of Picus abingoni listed in Fischer & Reichenow (1878b).

Formerly Picus (Campothera) mombassicus was considered a race of Golden-tailed Woodpecker ( C. abingoni ), but it was considered worthy of separate species status by Short & Horne (1988) based on its distinctly different vocalizations and lack of drumming. Despite reported intergrades with abingoni, Dickinson & Remsen (2013) , del Hoyo & Collar (2014) and Gill et al. (2023) all support separate species status. Fuchs et al. (2017) found that genetic divergence of mombassicus from abingoni was very limited and that further sampling was required to determine whether gene flow occurs.