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Taxonomic status of the extinct Canary Islands Oystercatcher Haematopus meadewaldoi
Author(s) -
Senfeld Tereza,
Shan Thomas J.,
Grouw Hein,
Paijmans Dane M.,
Tavares Erika S.,
Baker Allan J.,
Lees Alexander C.,
Collinson J. Martin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/ibi.12778
Subject(s) - subspecies , biology , introgression , zoology , range (aeronautics) , ecology , genetics , gene , materials science , composite material
Mitochondrial genes were sequenced from four specimens of the extinct Canary Islands Oystercatcher Haematopus meadewaldoi and compared with African Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini , Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus and an old unidentified extralimital ‘black’ oystercatcher specimen from The Gambia. At these loci, H. meadewaldoi was approximately 99.65% identical to multiple Eurasian Oystercatcher samples and in phylogenetic trees fell within the range of genetic variation observed in that species. The mystery Gambian bird was resolved as an extralimital H. moquini . We conclude that H. meadewaldoi was most likely a recently diverged melanistic morph or subspecies of H . ostralegus , although further genomic studies will be required to determine whether there has been a period of isolation followed by introgression.