The Chatham Islands pigeon (Parea) deserves full species status;Hemiphaga chathamensis(Rothschild 1891); Aves: Columbidae

Coexistence of two species of Halipeurus (Phthiraptera) on Chatham Island taiko {Pterodroma magentae) (Aves)

Feather lice (Phthiraptera) were collected from 14 Chatham Island taiko (Pterodroma magentae). These included two species of Halipeurus (Philopteridae) in the ratio of two H. procellariae to one H. theresae. So far as we know, the regular occurrence of two Halipeurus species on a host is unique. H. procellariae is likely to have been acquired from the taiko's ancestors, but H. theresae probably...

Molecular identification of two threatened pigeon species (Columbidae) using faecal samples

Faecal DNA isolation identifies two Columba species P. M rrero et al. Short communic Molecular identification of two threatened pigeon species (Columbidae) using faecal samples PATRICIA MARRERO, 1 * VICENTE M. CABRERA, 2 DAVID P. PADILLA 1 & MANUEL NOGALES 1 1 Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, IPNA-CSIC, La Laguna E-38206, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain 2 Department of Genetics, Uni...

Repetitive DNAs and shrink genomes: A chromosomal analysis in nine Columbidae species (Aves, Columbiformes).

An extensive karyotype variation is found among species belonging to the Columbidae family of birds (Columbiformes), both in diploid number and chromosomal morphology. Although clusters of repetitive DNA sequences play an important role in chromosomal instability, and therefore in chromosomal rearrangements, little is known about their distribution and amount in avian genomes. The aim of this s...

Forbes' parakeet (Cyanoramphus forbesi) population on Mangere Island, Chatham Islands

Five new extinct species of rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from the Macaronesian Islands (North Atlantic Ocean).

Five new species of recently extinct rails from two Macaronesian archipelagoes (Madeira and Azores) are described. All the species are smaller in size than their presumed ancestor, the European rail Rallus aquaticus. Two species inhabited the Madeira archipelago: (1) Rallus lowei n. sp., the stouter of the species described herein, was a flightless rail with a robust tarsometatarsus and reduced...