Greater Azores bullfinch

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Greater Azores bullfinch
Temporal range: Holocene
Pyrrhula crassa restoration.jpg
P. crassa (right) next to its extant relative P. murina (left)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Subfamily: Carduelinae
Genus: Pyrrhula
Species:
P. crassa
Binomial name
Pyrrhula crassa
Rando et al, 2017

The greater Azores bullfinch (Pyrrhula crassa) was a large, extinct species of bullfinch in the family Fringillidae that was once endemic to the Azores. It is the first known extinct passerine to be described from the islands. It is the largest known member of its genus based on its skull size, and had a very robust beak reminiscent of that of a parrot. However, the remains are otherwise reminiscent of the extant but highly endangered Azores bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina).

The species was described from subfossil remains found inside a lava tube in a volcano on Graciosa Island, although it may have inhabited other islands as well. The species was likely wiped out due to human settlement in the archipelago in the 15th century by the Portuguese, which led to habitat destruction and the introduction of invasive plant species, both of which depleted the laurel forest that P. crassa likely relied on. [1] [2]

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The Azores, officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores, is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal. It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlantic Ocean, about 1,400 km (870 mi) west of Lisbon, about 1,500 km (930 mi) northwest of Morocco, and about 1,930 km (1,200 mi) southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finch</span> Family of birds

The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usually resident and do not migrate. They have a worldwide native distribution except for Australia and the polar regions. The family Fringillidae contains more than two hundred species divided into fifty genera. It includes the canaries, siskins, redpolls, serins, grosbeaks and euphonias, as well as the morphologically divergent Hawaiian honeycreepers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian bullfinch</span> Species of bird

The Eurasian bullfinch, common bullfinch or bullfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. In Anglophone Europe it is known simply as the bullfinch, as it is the original bird to bear the name bullfinch.

<i>Coturnix</i> Genus of birds

Coturnix is a genus of five extant species and five to eight known extinct species of Old World quail.

<i>Pyrrhula</i> Genus of birds

Pyrrhula is a small genus of passerine birds, commonly called bullfinches, belonging to the finch family (Fringillidae). The genus has a Palearctic distribution; almost all species occur in Asia, with two species exclusively in the Himalayas and one species, P. pyrrhula, also occurring in Europe. The Azores bullfinch is a critically endangered species, occurring only in the east of the island of São Miguel in the Azores archipelago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azores bullfinch</span> Species of bird

The Azores bullfinch, also known as the São Miguel bullfinch, or locally in Portuguese as the priolo, is a threatened passerine bird in the true finch family. It is endemic to São Miguel Island, in the Azores archipelago of Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodrigues parrot</span> Extinct species of parrot that was endemic to Rodrigues

The Rodrigues parrot or Leguat's parrot is an extinct species of parrot that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues. The species is known from subfossil bones and from mentions in contemporary accounts. It is unclear to which other species it is most closely related, but it is classified as a member of the tribe Psittaculini, along with other Mascarene parrots. The Rodrigues parrot bore similarities to the broad-billed parrot of Mauritius, and may have been related. Two additional species have been assigned to its genus, based on descriptions of parrots from the other Mascarene islands, but their identities and validity have been debated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange bullfinch</span> Species of bird

The orange bullfinch is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in India and Pakistan. Its natural habitat is temperate forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-headed bullfinch</span> Species of bird

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<i>Melopyrrha</i> Genus of birds

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<i>Picconia azorica</i> Species of flowering plant

Picconia azorica, locally known as pau-branco, is a species of Picconia common to the majority of islands of the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, where it is endemic. It can grow to a medium-sized tree, though it is usually found in the form of a shrub. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baikal bullfinch</span> Subspecies of bird

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The São Miguel scops owl is a small extinct owl that once inhabited the island of São Miguel, in the Macaronesian archipelago of the Azores, in the North Atlantic Ocean. Its scientific specific name honours the 16th-century Azorean historian Gaspar Frutuoso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azores temperate mixed forests</span>

The Azores temperate mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of southwestern Europe. It encompasses the Azores archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. These volcanic islands are an autonomous region of Portugal, and lie 1500 km west of the Portuguese mainland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baixo Islet</span> Islet in the Azores, Portugal

Baixo Islet, also known locally as Ilhéu do Carapacho and historically as Ilhéu dos Homiziados, is a small uninhabited islet group located off the southeast coast of the island of Graciosa in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Along with Praia Islet to its north, Baixo Islet is one of two main breeding places of Monteiro's storm petrel, an endemic marine bird of the Azores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taiwan bullfinch</span> Species of bird

The Taiwan bullfinch is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is endemic to the mountains of Taiwan. It was previously considered a subspecies of the grey-headed bullfinch and most authorities consider it as such, but a 2020 study found it to represent a distinct species that diverged from the mainland Asian P. erythaca during the mid-Pleistocene, and the International Ornithological Congress accepted it as such.

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References

  1. Rando, J.C; Pieper, H.; Olson, Storrs L.; Pereira, F.; Alcover, J.A. (2017-06-27). "A new extinct species of large bullfinch (Aves: Fringillidae: Pyrrhula ) from Graciosa Island (Azores, North Atlantic Ocean)". Zootaxa. 4282 (3): 567. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4282.3.9. ISSN   1175-5334. Archived from the original on 2019-07-26. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  2. "A new bird which humans drove to extinction discovered in Azores". Phys.org . 2017-07-27. Retrieved 2018-10-22.