Pipilo naufragus (Bermuda Towhee)

[adzebill]

Undescribed large extinct finch (towhee) that was a Bermuda endemic that persisted into the early colonial period (Olson, unpublished data). It would have been a ground inhabitant of scrubby vegetation.

Source:
A Sustained +21 m Sea-Level Highstand during MIS 11 (400 Ka): Direct Fossil and Sedimentary Evidence from Bermuda
Authors: Olson, Storrs L.; Hearty, Paul J.
Quaternary Science Reviews, 28(3-4): 271-285

si-pddr.si.edu/dspace/bitstream/10088/7516/1/vz_Olson_and_hearty_a_sustained_21m_sea-level_highstand_during_mis_1.pdf

[Melanie]

Pipilo naufragus, new species, is described from Middle and Late Pleistocene to Holocene cave and pond deposits on the island of Bermuda. It is most similar to the Eastern Towhee P. erythrophthalmus but differs in having a heavier bill, more robust hindlimbs, and reduced wing and pectoral girdle, with the sternum in particular being shorter, wider, and with a much smaller carina. At least one early historical account (1610) contains a description of a large bunting-like bird that almost certainly refers to this species, which would have been exterminated by introduced pigs, rats, and cats following human settlement of Bermuda in 1612.

www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2988/11-21.1

[Peter]

Taxonomy

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Chordata Aves Passeriformes Passerellidae

Scientific Name: Pipilo naufragus
Species Authority: Olson, 2012
Common Name(s):
English – Bermuda Towhee
Taxonomic Source(s): del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria: Extinct ver 3.1
Year Published: 2016
Date Assessed: 2016-10-01
Assessor(s): BirdLife International
Reviewer(s): Butchart, S. & Symes, A.
Facilitator/Compiler(s): Westrip, J. & Symes, A.
Justification:
This newly-described species was endemic to Bermuda, but was likely driven Extinct by invasive predators following human settlement of the island in 1612.

Geographic Range

Range Description: This extinct taxon was known only from Bermuda.
Countries occurrence:
Regionally extinct:
Bermuda
Additional data:
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population

Population: No extant population remains.
Additional data:
Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: Nothing is known.
Systems: Terrestrial
Movement patterns: Not a Migrant

Threats

Major Threat(s): Invasive predators likely drove this species to extinction.

Citation: BirdLife International. 2016. Pipilo naufragus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T103772527A104363452. Downloaded on 11 December 2016.
www.iucnredlist.org/details/summary/103772527/0