blythi (1 Viewer)

[GIANLUIGI]

Hi
is there anyone who knows the reason why IOC did not consider the taxon blythi in the Lesser whitetroat complex?
Thanks
Gianluigi

 

[Melanie]

From HBW 11, 2006

Proposed races blythi (from N Siberia), caucasica (Turkey, Caucasus and N Iran) and zagrossiensis (SW Iran) are largely inseparable from, and therefore synonymized with, nominate; similarly, telengitica (Russian Altai and Mongolia) is included within halimodendri.

Raül Aymí, Gabriel Gargallo: Sylviidae Handbook of the Birds of the World Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers, 2006 p. 695

 

[Richard Klim]

...but blythi now appears to be a valid taxon according to Olsson et al 2013.

 

[GIANLUIGI]

Indeed L Svensson wrote recently to me noting that in his opinion IOC should not split in three species and should acknowledge blythi. Ssp.*jaxartica*is not enough distinct to be recognised also. I think major mistake by IOC is to allocate the two genetically closest relatives,*curruca and*minula, to different species!

*

 

[l_raty]

...but blythi now appears to be a valid taxon according to Olsson et al 2013.

...and the range of curruca in the current IOC master list is "Europe to w Siberia", which seems to exclude the range of blythi anyway.

BTW: Olsson et al. 2013.