Trochilidae (2 Viewers)

[l_raty]

(With thanks to Jim for the .pdf)

The authors note that Pampa Reichenbach 1854, currently used by Clements, IOC, HBW/BLI and (apparently) WGAC (following Stiles et al 2017), cannot be used because it is a junior homonym of Pampa Walker 1854 (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae; in use). They suggest using the subjective synonym Platystylopterus Reichenbach 1854 instead.

(We already discussed this here, actually. H&M then appeared to be using the correct name, but this cannot be seen from their website anymore.)
(So far as I can assess, the authors do not provide any significant additional dating evidence. Thus, for my own purposes and for the time being, I will stick to the dates I suggested above.)

 

[Melanie]

This was fast:

Patagona chaski should be treated as junior synonym of Patogona peruviana

The world’s largest hummingbird was described 131 years ago

Summary.—A recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
USA argued that Giant Hummingbird Patagona gigas comprises two species
(‘northern’ and ‘southern’) that differ in morphology, migratory behaviour and,
especially, genetics. This proposal merits close consideration, but the introduction
of a new name, ‘P. chaski’, for the northern population is unwarranted, as the taxon
concerned had already been described, as Patagona peruviana Boucard, 1893. Failure
by the authors of ‘P. chaski’ to identify and check the syntypes of P. peruviana,
which unambiguously correspond to the same morphotype and taxon as ‘P. chaski’,
resulted in the unnecessary erection of a ‘new species’ described already more than
a century ago. Here we stabilise nomenclature by designating a lectotype for P.
peruviana of which ‘P. chaski’ is a junior synonym.

The world's largest hummingbird was described 131 years ago

A recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA argued that Giant Hummingbird Patagona gigas comprises two species (‘northern’ and ‘southern’) that differ in morphology, migratory behaviour and, especially, genetics. This proposal merits close consideration, but the...

bioone.org

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

There are apparently sequences of Anopetia gounellei in GenBank but when I try to generate a tree, it gives me strange trees 🧐 I would like a tree that combines Phaethornis, Anopetia, Ramphodon and Glaucis

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

RIG gives Trochilus forficatus (Linn.) as the type species of Cyanolesbia Stejneger, 1885, but this name is the synonym of what today ?

 

[l_raty]

RIG gives Trochilus forficatus (Linn.) as the type species of Cyanolesbia Stejneger, 1885, but this name is the synonym of what today ?

Trochilus forficatus Linnaeus 1758 is a nomen dubium.
OD : v.1 - Caroli Linnaei...Systema naturae per regna tria naturae - Biodiversity Heritage Library
This was based on:

• “Polytmus major nigrans” etc. of Browne, p. 475.
• “Mellivora viridis, cauda longa” of Edwards, p. 33, pl. 33.
• “Mellivora avis minima” of Sloane, 2, p. 307, pl. 264.

Browne's bird was Trochilus polytmus; Edward's plate 33 shows an Aglaiocercus (his pl. 34 was Trochilus polytmus); Sloane's Mellivora avis minima was presumably Mellisuga minima (his Mellivora avis maxima was Trochilus polytmus).
Linnaeus' own diagnosis suggests a bird with an Aglaiocercus-like plumage (body green, crown and tail blue), but with a decurved (i.e., Trochilus-like) bill.

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

Trochilus forficatus Linnaeus 1758 is a nomen dubium.
OD : v.1 - Caroli Linnaei...Systema naturae per regna tria naturae - Biodiversity Heritage Library
This was based on:

• “Polytmus major nigrans” etc. of Browne, p. 475.
• “Mellivora viridis, cauda longa” of Edwards, p. 33, pl. 33.
• “Mellivora avis minima” of Sloane, 2, p. 307, pl. 264.

Browne's bird was Trochilus polytmus; Edward's plate 33 shows an Aglaiocercus (his pl. 34 was Trochilus polytmus); Sloane's Mellivora avis minima was presumably Mellisuga minima (his Mellivora avis maxima was Trochilus polytmus).
Linnaeus' own diagnosis suggests a bird with an Aglaiocercus-like plumage (body green, crown and tail blue), but with a decurved (i.e., Trochilus-like) bill.

Ok. So we must forget this name as a potential genus for kingii and company

 

[l_raty]

Ok. So we must forget this name as a potential genus for kingii and company

Stejneger 1885 referred to Elliot 1879; he can presumably be assumed to have used forficatus in the same sense as Elliot, hence for what we now call kingii.
Under the current Code, a published act under ICZN 70.3 could probably make kingii the type of Cyanolesbia...

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

Stejneger 1885 referred to Elliot 1879; he can presumably be assumed to have used forficatus in the same sense as Elliot, hence for what we now call kingii.
Under the current Code, a published act under ICZN 70.3 could probably make kingii the type of Cyanolesbia...

And so, takes precedence over Aglaiocercus. But Cyanolesbia seems to have been neglected by taxonomists 🧐

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

I have already found a Trochilus kingii attributed to Linnaeus but I no longer know where

 

[albertonykus]

Judy, C.D., G.R. Graves, J.E. McCormack, K.F. Stryjewski, and R.T. Brumfield (2025)
Speciation with gene flow in an island endemic hummingbird
PNAS Nexus 4: pgaf095
doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf095

We examined speciation in streamertail hummingbirds (Trochilus polytmus and Trochilus scitulus), Jamaican endemic taxa that challenge the rule that bird speciation cannot progress in situ on small islands. Our analysis shows that divergent selection acting on male bill color, a sexual ornament that is red in polytmus and black in scitulus, acts as a key reproductive barrier. We conducted a population-level analysis of genomic and phenotypic patterns to determine the traits that contribute the most to speciation despite ongoing gene flow across a narrow hybrid zone. We characterized genomic patterns using 6,451 single-nucleotide polymorphisms and a segment of the mitochondrial control region. Our analyses revealed high diversity within species, and low divergence between them, consistent with a recent speciation event or extensive gene flow following secondary contact. We observed narrow clines in two phenotypic traits and several SNP loci. The cline width for male bill color is only 2.3 km, marking it as one of the narrowest phenotypic clines documented in an avian hybrid zone. The coincidence of estimated cline centers with the Rio Grande Valley suggests that this landscape feature may contribute to hybrid zone stability. However, given that streamertails are highly mobile, it is unlikely that such a narrow river acts as a physical barrier to dispersal. The limited genomic divergence across scanned regions of the genome offers little support for postmating reproductive barriers. Instead, our findings point to strong premating selection acting on bill color as the primary driver of streamertail speciation.

 

[vdinets]

Judy, C.D., G.R. Graves, J.E. McCormack, K.F. Stryjewski, and R.T. Brumfield (2025)
Speciation with gene flow in an island endemic hummingbird
PNAS Nexus 4: pgaf095
doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf095

We examined speciation in streamertail hummingbirds (Trochilus polytmus and Trochilus scitulus), Jamaican endemic taxa that challenge the rule that bird speciation cannot progress in situ on small islands. Our analysis shows that divergent selection acting on male bill color, a sexual ornament that is red in polytmus and black in scitulus, acts as a key reproductive barrier. We conducted a population-level analysis of genomic and phenotypic patterns to determine the traits that contribute the most to speciation despite ongoing gene flow across a narrow hybrid zone. We characterized genomic patterns using 6,451 single-nucleotide polymorphisms and a segment of the mitochondrial control region. Our analyses revealed high diversity within species, and low divergence between them, consistent with a recent speciation event or extensive gene flow following secondary contact. We observed narrow clines in two phenotypic traits and several SNP loci. The cline width for male bill color is only 2.3 km, marking it as one of the narrowest phenotypic clines documented in an avian hybrid zone. The coincidence of estimated cline centers with the Rio Grande Valley suggests that this landscape feature may contribute to hybrid zone stability. However, given that streamertails are highly mobile, it is unlikely that such a narrow river acts as a physical barrier to dispersal. The limited genomic divergence across scanned regions of the genome offers little support for postmating reproductive barriers. Instead, our findings point to strong premating selection acting on bill color as the primary driver of streamertail speciation.

So it's the same as with carrion/hooded crows? Hardly any difference except for one flashy allele that is fashionable in one tribe and a turnoff in the other?