The genus
Nyctibius was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist
Louis Pierre Vieillot to accommodate a single species,
Comte de Buffon's "Le Grand Engoulevent de Cayenne", the
great potoo, which thus becomes the
type species. The genus name is from
Ancient Greek nuktibios meaning "night-feeding", from
nux night and
bios "life". They are one of two genera in the family, the other being the monotypic genus
Phyllaemulor (containing only the
rufous potoo). Prior to 2018, they were considered the only extant genus within the Nyctibiidae; however, a study that year found a deep divergence between the rufous potoo and all other species in the genus, leading it to be described in a new genus and expanding the number of genera within the family. This was followed by the
International Ornithological Congress in 2022. == Distribution ==