DOCSLIB.ORG

Anno Accademico 2011–2012 UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI TRIESTE FACOLTÀ DI SCIENZE MATEMATICHE, FISICHE E NATURALI CORSO DI LAUR

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Anno Accademico 2011–2012 UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI TRIESTE FACOLTÀ DI SCIENZE MATEMATICHE, FISICHE E NATURALI CORSO DI LAUR Anno accademico 2011–2012 UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI TRIESTE FACOLTÀ DI SCIENZE MATEMATICHE, FISICHE E NATURALI CORSO DI LAUREA IN SCIENZE BIOLOGICHE CURRICULUM: Biodiversità degli ecosistemi terrestri e marini “Strategie sessuali e capacità cognitive degli uccelli giardinieri” Laureanda: Degano Eleonora Relatore: Avian Massimo Correlatrice: Chiandetti Cinzia 1 CLASSIFICAZIONE GENERI: SCIENTIFICA: Ailuroedus Dominio: Eukaryota Amblyornis Regno: Animalia Archboldia Phylum: Chordata Chlamydera Classe: Aves Prionodura Ordine: Passeriformes Ptilonorhyncus Famiglia: Ptilonorhynchidae Scenopooetes Sericulus 1 Introduzione alla specie 2 Costruzione del pergolato 3 Adattamento al fuoco 4 Investimento parentale e fitness 5 Modelli di selezione sessuale 6 L’ipotesi del maschio brillante 7 Illusione ottica e la visione negli uccelli 8 Il concetto di arte 9 Abilità cognitive e di apprendimento 10 Studi sulla cognizione e dimensione del cervello Fig.1: Un esemplare femmina di Ptilonorhyncus violaceus 2 1 - Introduzione alle specie Gli Ptilonorhynchidae o uccelli giardinieri (in inglese “bowerbirds”) sono una famiglia appartenente all’ordine dei Passeriformi. Ne conosciamo 20 specie, delle quali 10 vivono solamente in Nuova Guinea, 8 in Australia e 2 in entrambe le regioni. Il territorio abitabile dagli uccelli giardinieri copre circa due terzi della superficie di queste due regioni. L’habitat naturale comprende principalmente foreste umide, ad altitudini svariate sino a picchi di 4000 m (come nel caso dell’uccello giardiniere di Archbold, Archboldia papuensis). Molte specie sono localizzate in areali precisi come l’uccello giardiniere crinito (Serikulus bakeri), confinato sui Monti Adelbert in Papua Nuova Guinea, gli uccelli giardiniere dorati (Prionodura newtoniana) e gli uccelli gatto dentati (Scenopooetes dentirostris), esclusivi delle foreste pluviali del Queensland sul tavolato di Atherton. Altre specie, come l’uccello giardiniere flammeo (Sericulus aureus) e il giardiniere maggiore (Chlamydera nuchalis), occupano invece areali continui ed estesi. Gli uccelli giardinieri hanno dimensioni variabili da quelle di uno storno a quelle di un corvo, con piedi massicci e becchi pesanti. Tendenzialmente sono lungoìhi circa 30 cm coda compresa; un maschio pesa tra 173-290 g, una femmina 170-258 g. La colorazione del piumaggio è variabile e la maggior parte degli esemplari maschi presenta tinte vivaci: oro brillante, arancio e nero (uccelli giardinieri flammei, uccello giardiniere crinito e uccello giardiniere di Archbold), blu-nero iridescente, giallo brillante e oliva nell’uccello giardiniere dorato, con creste colorate che vengono erette durante il display, giallo e arancio brillante nell’uccello giardiniere flammeo (Sericulus aureus) (Fig.2). Fig.2: Un uccello giardiniere flammeo presso il suo pergolato 3 Altre specie come il maggiore, il pettofulvo (Chlamydera cerviniventris) e il pettogiallo (Chlamydera lauterbachi), i quali vivono principalmente nascosti tra la vegetazione erbacea e nei boschi più aridi, presentano un abito dai toni grigi/marroni con piccole creste rosate sulla nuca; queste colorazioni più discrete sono tipiche anche degli esemplari femmine di molte specie in quanto si prestano alla mimetizzazione nell’ambiente. Gli uccelli giardinieri si nutrono principalmente di frutti, fiori, foglie, insetti (cicale, maggiolini ed altri artropodi) e talvolta di piccoli animali. Molte delle specie (principalmente quelle costruttrici) si riuniscono in stormi durante l’inverno e possono assaltare frutteti e piante erbacee rivelandosi una vera calamità (Frith 1991, Rowland 2008). 2 - Costruzione del pergolato I due rappresentanti più antichi del gruppo, l’uccello gatto macchiato (Ailuroedus melanotis) l’uccello gatto verde (Ailuroedus crassirostris) sono monogami, e la coppia alleva i piccoli insieme dopo aver costruito un nido; il modello è quello seguito da circa il 90% degli uccelli, che solitamente porta ad un incremento della fitness di entrambi, maschio e femmina. Un lascito all’apparenza inutile di quello che probabilmente è un ignoto antenato (forse un uccello lira del genere Menura) è riscontrabile in un comportamento mantenuto dalle coppie di uccelli gatto: essi allestiscono una rudimentale area circolare di foglie capovolte che utilizzano per esibirsi. Diversamente da questi ultimi, la prerogativa della maggior parte degli Ptilonorhynchidae è la costruzione di complessi pergolati e piattaforme allo scopo di attirare il maggior numero di femmine possibili con finalità riproduttive; delle 20 specie di uccelli giardinieri conosciute, sappiamo che 16 sono solite costruire tali strutture, e che sono tutte specie poligame. Questi pergolati sono talmente particolari ed atipici che per anni i ricercatori occidentali li pensarono opera di tribù delle foreste. Queste creazioni sono le più complesse che si siano mai viste nel mondo ornitologico; solamente castori ed esseri umani intraprendono opere che comportano un gran numero di fasi e gran flessibilità in termini di progettazione, materiali ed esecuzione. Tendenzialmente la maggior cura riscontrabile nella costruzione di nidi e strutture simili è volta alla mimetizzazione nell’ambiente o alla resistenza; ci sono pochissime eccezioni, ad esempio casi isolati di pivieri (Charadrius morinellus) che circondano il proprio nido con un cerchio di pietre e starne (Perdix perdix) che trascinano, con fatica non indifferente, cumuli di alghe sino ai nidi; in entrambi i casi non pare esservi un comprensibile scopo (Rowland 2008). Nelle foreste dell'Austrialia è facile dunque imbattersi nei pergolati degli uccelli giardinieri, costituiti da rametti tondeggianti posti in verticale e rivestiti con muschi e felci, decorati con conchiglie evo 4 fili colorati; nelle vicinanze degli insediamenti umani le decorazioni spesso includono oggetti come monete, mollette, penne a sfera, spazzolini da denti, tappi di bottiglie di plastica, argenteria, detriti vari, bottoni, vetri, unghie, viti, ditali e piccoli oggetti simili (Borgia 1985b, Madden 2003 e 2004). A volte le pareti del pergolato sono colorate con tinture naturali che l’animale ottiene mescolando la propria saliva a succhi prelevati da bacche, carbone vegetale o vegetazione masticata. E’ stato dimostrato che la pittura delle pareti, misurata in termini di ore spese dedicandosi a questa attività, porta ad un incremento della fitness del maschio performante con un aumento considerevole del numero di accoppiamenti (fig.3). Per quanto riguarda alcune specie, in particolare l’uccello giardiniere grigio (Ptylonorhyncus nuchalis), gli studiosi stanno ancora discutendo se il viale sia effettivamente dipinto oppure no: sebbene si siano osservati numerosissimi maschi intenti a tale operazione, il colore sembra ad occhio umano essere immutato. Va considerato, tuttavia, che gli uccelli percepiscono l’ultravioletto; se una componente della saliva dell’uccello riflette questa lunghezza d’onda, e il colore riflesso risulta attraente per le femmine, il comportamento potrebbe allora rivelarsi determinante. La saliva, inoltre, potrebbe contenere un odore attraente per le femmine che l’essere umano non è in grado di percepire, e che potrebbe rivelarsi un potentissimo additivo alla pittura. Fig.3: Probabilità binomiale che un esemplare maschio ottenga almeno una copula durante i mesi di monitoraggio del pergolato (in questo caso novembre e dicembre) come previsto dalla quantità di eventi di pittura/ora. I punti rappresentano -per ogni categoria divisa in base al numero di eventi di pittura/ora- la percentuale di maschi che ottennero almeno un accoppiamento durante il periodo di osservazione; i numeri vicino ai punti indicano il numero di osservazioni su ogni singolo esemplare della popolazione in studio. 5 I pergolati non sono nidi: sono infatti le femmine a costruire il nido vero e proprio sugli alberi, dove senza alcun contributo da parte del maschio con il quale si sono accoppiate alleveranno la prole (Borgia 1985b, Madden 2003). I più studiati e noti tra le varie specie conosciute sono gli uccelli giardinieri satinati (Ptylonorhincus violaceus), i quali costruiscono un pergolato relativamente modesto. In un primo momento avviene la scelta di un sito adeguato, un luogo aperto e pianeggiante con un buon passaggio di luce; il maschio pulisce l’area da eventuali foglie residue agendo anche sulla vegetazione circostante, in modo da rendere la zona prescelta il più luminosa e ordinata possibile: vengono rimossi tutti i detriti fino a liberare un’area di circa 1 m2. Arriva ora il momento di costruire e procedere con l’inserimento di centinaia di bastoncini e ramoscelli lasciati cadere sul terreno e debitamente calpestati in maniera apparentemente casuale su quella che in seguito sarà sede del pergolato. La forma precisa di rito di corteggiamento del maschio può essere molto diversa tra differenti popolazioni. Il tipo di struttura, in base a impostazione e resistenza, si rifà alle linee guida dei nidi dei passeracei. Un’ulteriore fase della costruzione prevede la raccolta di bastoncini lunghi 20-30 cm che vengono disposti verticalmente (utilizzo atipico da parte degli uccelli); gli eventuali ramoscelli curvati vengono posizionati in maniera tale da creare una struttura “di copertura” arcuata sul viale che sta prendendo forma; quest’ultimo ha tendenzialmente una lunghezza che va dai 37,5 cm ai 62,5 cm (Madden 2003). L'uccello giardiniere manipola accuratamente l'ambiente in modo da farlo divenire oggetto di selezione sessuale, come se fosse parte integrante del suo corpo;
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Labile Evolution of Display Traits in Bowerbirds Indicates Reduced Effects of Phylogenetic Constraint
    Labile evolution of display traits in bowerbirds indicates reduced effects of phylogenetic constraint " # # RAB KUSMIERSKI , GERALD BORGIA , ALBERT UY " ROSS H.CROZIER " School of Genetics and Human Variation, La Trobe Uniersit, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia # Department of Zoolog, Uniersit of Marland, College Park, MD 20742, USA SUMMARY Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchidae) have among the most exaggerated sets of display traits known, including bowers, decorated display courts and bright plumage, that differ greatly in form and degree of elaboration among species. Mapping bower and plumage traits on an independently derived phylogeny constructed from mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences revealed large differences in display traits between closely related species and convergences in both morphological and behavioural traits. Plumage characters showed no effect of phylogenetic inertia, although bowers exhibited some constraint at the more fundamental level of design, but above which they appeared free of constraint. Bowers and plumage characters, therefore, are poor indicators of phylogenetic relationship in this group. Testing Gilliard’s (1969) transferral hypothesis indicated some support for the idea that the focus of display has shifted from bird to bower in avenue-building species, but not in maypole-builders or in bowerbirds as a whole. maypole-builders (Amblornis, four spp.; Prionodura) in- 1. INTRODUCTION clude the orange-crested males of A. macgregoriae, which Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchidae) form a monophyletic decorate a sapling with horizontally interwoven sticks. family (Kusmierski et al. 1993) (eight genera, 19 species) The dull-coloured, monomorphic A. inornatus of endemic to Australia and New Guinea, and are unique western Irian Jaya (Arfak and Wandamen mountains) in the bird world in constructing and using a bower in and the orange-crested, dimorphic A.
    [Show full text]
  • Two New Species of Paraphilopterus Mey, 2004 (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae)
    Zootaxa 3873 (2): 155–164 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2014 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3873.2.3 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D78B845A-99D8-423E-B520-C3DD83E3C87F Two new species of Paraphilopterus Mey, 2004 (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) from New Guinean bowerbirds (Passeriformes: Ptilonorhynchidae) and satinbirds (Passeriformes: Cnemophilidae) DANIEL R. GUSTAFSSON1,2 & SARAH E. BUSH1 1Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 S. 1400 E., Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112, USA 2Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Two new species of Paraphilopterus Mey, 2004 are described and named. Paraphilopterus knutieae n. sp. is described from two subspecies of Macgregor's bowerbirds: Amblyornis macgregoriae nubicola Schodde & McKean, 1973 and A. m. kombok Schodde & McKean, 1973, and Sanford's bowerbird: Archboldia sanfordi (Mayr & Gilliard, 1950) (Ptilono- rhynchidae). Paraphilopterus meyi n. sp. is described from two subspecies of crested satinbirds: Cnemophilus macgrego- rii macgregorii De Vis, 1890 and C. m. sanguineus Iredale, 1948 (Cnemophilidae). These new louse species represent the first records of the genus Paraphilopterus outside Australia, as well as from host families other than the Corcoracidae. The description of Paraphilopterus is revised and expanded based on the additional new species, including the first de- scription of the male of this genus. Also, we provide a key to the species of Paraphilopterus. Key words: Phthiraptera, Ischnocera, Philopteridae, Paraphilopterus, chewing lice, new species, Ptilonorhynchidae, Cnemophilidae, New Guinea Introduction Mey (2004: 188) described the new genus Paraphilopterus based on a single female louse from the Australian host Corcorax melanoramphos (Vieillot, 1817) (Corcoracidae).
    [Show full text]
  • Parallel Evolution of Bower-Building Behavior in Two Groups of Bowerbirds Suggested by Phylogenomics
    SUPPLEMENT TO: Parallel Evolution of Bower-Building Behavior in Two Groups of Bowerbirds Suggested by Phylogenomics Per G.P. Ericson 1 *, Martin Irestedt 1, Johan A.A. Nylander 1, Les Christidis 2, Leo Joseph 3, Yanhua Qu 1, 4 * 1 Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, PO Box 50007, SE-104 05, Stockholm, Sweden 2 School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia, School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia 3 Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO National Research Collections Australia, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia 4 Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China CONTENT 1. MATERIAL AND METHODS (DETAILED DESCRIPTION) 2. FURTHER DETAILS ABOUT SYSTEMATIC RELATIONSHIPS OBSERVED 3. DATA REPOSITORIES 4. SUPPLEMENTARY FIGURES S1-S5 5. SUPPLEMENTARY TABLES S1-S2 1. MATERIAL AND METHODS (DETAILED DESCRIPTION) Taxon Sampling In the study, we include all traditionally recognized bowerbird species as well as representatives for each of the morphologically and genetically distinct populations of the genus Ailuroedus that recently were elevated from status as subspecies to full species (Irestedt et al. 2016). The number of Ailuroedus species thus increased from the traditionally recognized three species (buccoides, crassirostris and melanotis; species epithets used for brevity when possible) to ten (buccoides, stonii, geislerorum, crassirostris, maculosus, melanocephalus, astigmaticus, arfakianus, jobiensis and melanotis). We used cryo-frozen tissue samples for most taxa, but for twelve individuals DNA was extracted from toe pad samples of museum study skins (Table S1 available on Dryad). We base our information on mating system, sexual plumage dimorphism, and building of courts and bowers on Gilliard (1969), Diamond (1986a), Kusmierski et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Birds of New Guinea Field Guide (Beehler Et Al
    © Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be distributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical means without prior written permission of the publisher. Introduction The New Guinea Region Our region of coverage follows Mayr (1941: vi), who defined the natural region that encompasses the avifauna of New Guinea, naming it the “New Guinea Region.” It comprises the great tropical island of New Guinea as well as an array of islands lying on its continental shelf or immediately offshore. This region extends from the equator to latitude 12o south and from longitude 129o east to 155o east; it is 2,800 km long by 750 km wide and supports the largest remaining contiguous tract of old-growth humid tropical forest in the Asia-Pacific (Beehler 1993a). The Region includes the Northwestern Islands (Raja Ampat group) of the far west—Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, Misool, Kofiau, Gam, Gebe, and Gag; the Aru Islands of the southwest—Wokam, Kobroor, Trangan, and others; the Bay Islands of Geelvink/Cenderawasih Bay—Biak-Supiori, Numfor, Mios Num, and Yapen; Dolak Island of south-central New Guinea (also known as Dolok, Kimaam, Kolepom, Yos Sudarso, or Frederik Hendrik); Daru and Kiwai Islands of eastern south-central New Guinea; islands of the north coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG)—Kairiru, Muschu, Manam, Bagabag, and Karkar; and the Southeastern (Milne Bay) Islands of the far southeast—Goodenough, Fergusson, Normanby, Kiriwina, Kaileuna, Wood- lark, Misima, Tagula/Sudest, and Rossel, plus many groups of smaller islands (see the endpapers for a graphic delimitation of the Region).
    [Show full text]
  • Bio2 Ch01-Wilson
    CHAPTER 1 Introduction EDWARD O. WILSON Pellegrino University Professor, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts “Biodiversity,” the term and concept, has been a remarkable event in recent cultural evolution: 10 years ago the word did not exist, except perhaps through occasional idiosyncratic use. Today it is one of the most commonly used expres- sions in the biological sciences and subsequently has become a household word. It was born “BioDiversity” during the National Forum on BioDiversity, held in Washington, D.C., on September 21-24, 1986, under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian Institution. The proceedings of the forum, published in 1988 under the title BioDiversity (later to be cited with less than bibliographical accuracy by most authors as Biodiversity), became a best- seller for the National Academy Press. By the summer of 1992, as a key topic of the Rio environmental summit meeting, biodiversity had moved to center stage as one of the central issues of scientific and political concern world-wide. So what is it? Biologists are inclined to agree that it is, in one sense, every- thing. Biodiversity is defined as all hereditarily based variation at all levels of organization, from the genes within a single local population or species, to the species composing all or part of a local community, and finally to the communi- ties themselves that compose the living parts of the multifarious ecosystems of the world. The key to the effective analysis of biodiversity is the precise defini- tion of each level of organization when it is being addressed.
    [Show full text]
  • An Inverse Relationship Between Decoration and Food Colour Preferences in Satin Bowerbirds Does Not Support the Sensory Drive Hypothesis
    ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR, 2006, 72, 1125e1133 doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.03.015 An inverse relationship between decoration and food colour preferences in satin bowerbirds does not support the sensory drive hypothesis GERALD BORGIA*† & JASON KEAGY† *Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park yDepartment of Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Program, University of Maryland, College Park (Received 20 September 2005; initial acceptance 25 October 2005; final acceptance 30 March 2006; published online 26 September 2006; MS. number: A10246) Male bowerbirds collect and decorate their bowers with coloured objects that influence female choice. A recent version of the sensory drive hypothesis claims that female food colour preferences have driven the evolution of female preferences for the colour of male display traits. This hypothesis predicts a positive correlation between male display and food colour preferences. A positive correlation between food and decoration preferences could also arise because of sensory biases built into bowerbirds or the environment. Here we test hypotheses that (1) male and female satin bowerbirds show well-defined food colour prefer- ences, (2) these preferences correlate with independently assessed preferences for bower decorations, and, in a cross-species comparison, (3) food items were used as the first bower decorations. We found that male and female satin bowerbirds, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus, preferentially use long wavelength and were colours as food items. Male decoration preferences were biased towards colours of short wavelength and were negatively correlated with food colour preferences. Our reconstruction of ancestral character states is most consistent with the hypothesis that the original bower decorations were inedible objects and were thus unlikely to have been dual-use traits that also functioned as food items.
    [Show full text]
  • Papua New Guinea II Trip Report
    Papua New Guinea II Trip Report st th 21 July to 7 August 2011 (18 days) Tour Leaders: Erik Forsyth & Glen Valentine Trip report compiled by Erik Forsyth Trip Report – RBT Papua New Guinea II 2011 2 Top 10 birds as voted by participants: 1. Greater Bird-of-paradise 6. Feline Owlet-nightjar 2. Southern Crowned Pigeon 7. Twelve-wired Bird-of-paradise 3. Flame Bowerbird 8. Crested Satinbird 4. Blue Bird-of-paradise 9. Shovel-billed Kingfisher 5. Palm Cockatoo 10. Raggiana Bird-of-paradise Tour Summary We started off our tour with a visit to the Pacific Adventist University where we visited various dams and enjoyed superb sightings of Spotted Whistling Duck, confiding Nankeen Night Heron, beautiful Comb- crested Jacana and smart looking Raja Shelduck. Two unusual finds here were Plumed Whistling Duck and Hardhead, both scarce migrant ducks from Australia. A casual stroll around the manicured gardens saw us finding Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, Rufous-banded Honeyeater, localized Black-backed Butcherbird, Grey Shrikethrush, Australasian Figbird and best of all a pair of the huge Papuan Frogmouth. This rounded off a superb start to this fabulous tour. From here we journeyed into the mid- elevation forests of Varirata National Park. Our time spent in this species rich reserve was most enjoyable. Traversing the network of trails we were delighted with sightings of a superb pair of Marbled Frogmouth, Barred Owlet-nightjar peering out of its roosting hole, endemic Brown-headed Paradise Kingfisher, the cute Yellow-billed Kingfisher, White- faced Robin, Black Berrypecker, Fairy Gerygone, buzzing Dwarf Longbill, Yellow-breasted Boatbill, Pygmy Drongo, Spot-winged and colourful Black- faced Monarchs, noisy Growling Riflebird and Goldenface.
    [Show full text]
  • Novitates No
    AMERIICAN MUSEUM NOV ITATES PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CITY OF NEW YORK DECEMBER 12, 1952 NUMBER 1602 GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION AND PLUMAGES IN AUSTRALIAN BOWERBIRDS (PTILONORHYNCHIDAE) By ERNST MAYR AND KATE JENNINGS INTRODUCTION In view of the great recent interest in the biology of bower- birds, it is surprising how little is known about the taxonomy of the Australian species. The available accounts in the standard works are very confusing, since no difference is made in most of them between synonyms and valid subspecies. Furthermore, a study of individual variation, of the sequence of plumages, and of measurements is badly needed, as information on these matters is woefully inadequate in the existing literature. In fact, we know much more about the New Guinea species than about the most familiar Australian birds. The following account is based on the material in the American Museum of Natural History which includes the Rothschild and Mathews collections. Where this material proved inadequate, additional specimens were borrowed from the United States National Museum, the Chicago Natural History Museum, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (including parts of the Gould Collec- tion). We greatly appreciate the kindness of the curators of these institutions in making this material available. Ailuroedus crassirostris Paykull GREEN CATBIRD The only two Australian subspecies of this Australo-Papuan species are so different from each other that they were listed as 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 1602 two species in most of the older literature. However, their essential similarity, the agreement of habits, and the basic dif- ference from buccoides (New Guinea), the only other species of the genus, make it evident that crassirostris Paykull, 1815 (=viridis Vieillot, 1817), and maculosus Ramsay, 1875, must be considered as conspecific.
    [Show full text]
  • Birds of Central New Guinea
    ;; ,.;: J", ,'!" " ,1: f t.- " r BIRDS OF CENTRAL NEW GUINEA I BULl.ETL'{ A~lER. :'I [lis. i\-AT. HIST. VOL. 103, PLATE 13 I r • ,; , _ ...-._--~--_... -- --- --- -- ----_._.~.. _-- BIRDS OF CENTRAL NEW GUINEA ! :- ~ • ~; j:" , " RESULTS OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF \" L .., , ! 'i; NATURAL HISTORY EXPEDITIONS TO " ,. NEW GUINEA IN 1950 AND 1952 , i:, ERNST MAYR AND E. THOMAS GILLIARD f I r I f I I , f L I 1 i j BULLETIN OF THE 1 AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY VOLUME 103 : ARTICLE 4 NEW YORK : 1954 BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Volume 103, article 4, pages 311-374, text figure 1, plates 13-34, tables 1-8 Issued April1Z, 1954 Price: $2.00 a cop:! ;;L:~difDilii'_;;;;;?;;::<;;';;ZM;;;;r;;;;;'·;::":;;:'::<:;;:;;f.;;;;;;;;.;::':;;::=":::::;:;;' __'::'::'"'::'''''::'''''')''--*'''''''.'''''''''''''''5''_'''''j! ..."""..,.,.,...,----...,....,.-...,.--:;?(;'"~""i_;-".~,'::..;"::i,-c I- ; . I' ' i 'I I ~.'i , ! CONTENTS I, INTRODUCTION • . 317 Summary of Results 318 I Itinerary ..... 320 I 321 f Ecological, Geographical, and Anthropological Notes Conservation and Paradise Plume Collecting Today 324 I Types of Habitat and Birds Typical of Each 326 I Effect of Man Upon the Altitudinal Distribution of Some New Guinea Birds 327 Zoogeographical Affinities of Wahgi Region Birds . .. 328 I ANNOTATED LIST OF BIRDS OF THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS 331 f REFERENCEs . 373 I . I f I ( I 1 I I 1 315 i¥!_Mn::: ..~""",,....-;'~.....'--~ ~._;"_n:-.:;o'; ;;;; ;;":;0:;0':'=::::::::::=======::::=""'..,""'..,-------------------""Sri;'"": . RiW' iiii. !;~~ ;,i~ I., i." 1: , ! 11 , ii i! I :' , I I' I, INTRODUCTION CONTINUING THE ORNITHOLOGICAL EXPLORA- Guinea Expedition, was under the leadership I, I TION of New Guinea in which this institution of Armand Denis, noted film producer.
    [Show full text]
  • Near Threatened Species NEAR THREATENED SPECIES
    Near Threatened species NEAR THREATENED SPECIES 2483 Threatened birds of Asia DWARF CASSOWARY Casuarius bennetti occurs in New Guinea (Papua, formerly Irian Jaya, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea) and, presumably as a long-established introduction, on New Britain, where it is a forest species occurring into the mountains and occasionally to the treeline at 3,600 m (Coates 1985, Beehler et al. 1986). Although probably tolerant of moderate habitat degradation, logging opens up previously inaccessible areas to hunters; despite heavy hunting pressure, it remains relatively common over a wide altitudinal range (Coates 1985, Beehler et al. 1986, B. M. Beehler in litt. 2000, A. Mack in litt. 1999). It is judged to have a substantial population and to be declining more slowly than the other larger and more lowland cassowaries Casuarius. Criteria nearly met: A1b,d; A2b,d. PYGMY CORMORANT Phalacrocorax pygmeus breeds in (all data for pairs, and unless otherwise indicated all information from Crivelli et al. 1996) Bulgaria (20–180), Greece (1,250– 1,310) (Kazantzidis and Nazirides 1999), Italy (30–50) (M. Passarella in litt. 1999), Moldova (30–500), Hungary, Romania (4,000–7,000), Turkey (1,000–1,500) (Eken and Magnin in press), Slovakia, Yugoslavia (1,000–1,200), F.Y.R.O. Macedonia, Croatia, Ukraine (20–320), Russia, Iran (20–30), Azerbaijan (14,749 estimated in 1986), Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzebekistan, plus, possibly, south-east Iraq, and it winters primarily in Albania, Greece, Yugoslavia, F.Y.R.O. Macedonia, Turkey, Cyprus, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan and also Israel, Bulgaria, Romania and Syria. There is one record from Pakistan (Grimmett et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Acknowledgments
    Acknowledgments IamdeeplygratefultoErnstMayrwithwhomIcorrespondedsincetheearly 1960s. I was always astonished that despite his busy schedule as Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, he would take time to answer my enquiries in detail. I met him at Harvard University in 1968 and discussed aspects of speciation and evolution with him when we met several times in the United States and in Germany in later years. I also thank him for his contributions to this volume and forhispermissiontoreviewmaterialintheMayrPapersattheErnstMayrLibrary (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University) as well as portions of his correspondence at the Harvard University Archives. During visits to Cambridge and Bedford, Massachusetts in September 2003 and October 2004, we discussed an early version of this manuscript. I was also permitted to use a 12-page manuscript by Margarete (Gretel) Mayr, Ernst’s wife, on “Our life in America during the Second World War.” Their daughters Mrs. Christa Menzel and Mrs. Susanne Mayr Harrison also supplied additional information. Mrs. Harrison mentioned to me details of the family’s frequent visits to Cold Spring Harbor (New York) during the 1940s and Mrs. Menzel and her husband Gerhart Menzel kindly showed me The Farm near Wilton, New Hampshire. Mrs. Harrison also provided prints and electronic files of family photographs and reviewed various parts of the manuscript. I thank the nephews Dr. Otto Mayr and Dr. Jörg Mayr who maintain a family archive in Lindau, Germany, for historical photographs and data regarding the family. Ernst Mayr’s niece Roswitha Kytzia (née Mayr) and her husband Peter Kytzia (Hammersbach near Hanau, Germany), who served as E. Mayr’s main family contact in Germany during the last 20 years, also furthered this project and helped with various information.
    [Show full text]
  • Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) from New Guinean Bowerbirds (Passeriformes: Ptilonorhynchidae) and Satinbirds (Passeriformes: Cnemophilidae)
    Zootaxa 3873 (2): 155–164 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2014 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3873.2.3 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D78B845A-99D8-423E-B520-C3DD83E3C87F Two new species of Paraphilopterus Mey, 2004 (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) from New Guinean bowerbirds (Passeriformes: Ptilonorhynchidae) and satinbirds (Passeriformes: Cnemophilidae) DANIEL R. GUSTAFSSON1,2 & SARAH E. BUSH1 1Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 S. 1400 E., Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112, USA 2Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Two new species of Paraphilopterus Mey, 2004 are described and named. Paraphilopterus knutieae n. sp. is described from two subspecies of Macgregor's bowerbirds: Amblyornis macgregoriae nubicola Schodde & McKean, 1973 and A. m. kombok Schodde & McKean, 1973, and Sanford's bowerbird: Archboldia sanfordi (Mayr & Gilliard, 1950) (Ptilono- rhynchidae). Paraphilopterus meyi n. sp. is described from two subspecies of crested satinbirds: Cnemophilus macgrego- rii macgregorii De Vis, 1890 and C. m. sanguineus Iredale, 1948 (Cnemophilidae). These new louse species represent the first records of the genus Paraphilopterus outside Australia, as well as from host families other than the Corcoracidae. The description of Paraphilopterus is revised and expanded based on the additional new species, including the first de- scription of the male of this genus. Also, we provide a key to the species of Paraphilopterus. Key words: Phthiraptera, Ischnocera, Philopteridae, Paraphilopterus, chewing lice, new species, Ptilonorhynchidae, Cnemophilidae, New Guinea Introduction Mey (2004: 188) described the new genus Paraphilopterus based on a single female louse from the Australian host Corcorax melanoramphos (Vieillot, 1817) (Corcoracidae).
    [Show full text]