Greater Azores bullfinch Temporal range: Holocene | |
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P. crassa (right) next to its extant relative P. murina (left) | |
Scientific classification | |
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]
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.
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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.
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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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