West Indies: new extinct snipe (1 Viewer)

[Richard Klim]

Steadman & Takano 2016. A new extinct species of snipe (Aves: Scolopacidae: Gallinago) from the West Indies. Zootaxa 4109(3): 345–358. [abstract]

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

Gallinago kakuki sp. nov.

 

[Melanie]

Interesting that all the Gallinago bones from Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands should belong to only one species.

 

[Fred Ruhe]

Interesting that all the Gallinago bones from Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands should belong to only one species.

The specimens from Cuba were not examined by Steadman and Takano:

"The specimens of Gallinago new sp. from Cuba (3 humeri, 1 ulna) are from Cueva El Abrón in Pinar del Río Province, and Cueva de Humboldt and Cueva del Salón in Sancti Spíritus Province (Suárez, 2004). We did not examine this material directly although we evaluated the osteological characters provided by Suárez (2004)."

The holotype is a complete humerus, identical (parts of) humeri were found on the Cayman Islands.

The holotype humerus bears the name. the rest are paratypes and refered material, so I would not conclude they are all the same species although I think it is likely. Ir happens sometimes that some referred material of a species or even some type material or paratype material is used to erect a new species.

So was the holotype of Pseudoseisuropsis wintu Stefanini, Gómez et Tambussi, 2016 a former paratype of Pseudoseisuropsis nehuen Noriega, 1991.

Fred

 

[Melanie]

Related article:

David W. Steadman & Janet Franklin: Changes in a West Indian bird community since the late Pleistocene. Volume 42, Issue 3
March 2015. Pages 426–438 DOI: 10.1111/jbi.12418

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.12418/abstract

(Mention of the undescribed Bahama snipe Gallinago sp. nov. undescr. from the Late Pleistocene)