A striking, critically endangered, new species of hillstar (Trochilidae: Oreotrochilus) from the southwestern Andes of Ecuador Sornoza-molina, Francisco; Freile, Juan F.; Nilsson, Jonas; Krabbe, Niels; Bonaccorso, Elisa Published in: The Auk: Ornithological Advances DOI: 10.1642/AUK-18-58.1 Publication date: 2018 Document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Document license: CC BY-NC Citation for published version (APA): Sornoza-molina, F., Freile, J. F., Nilsson, J., Krabbe, N., & Bonaccorso, E. (2018). A striking, critically endangered, new species of hillstar (Trochilidae: Oreotrochilus) from the southwestern Andes of Ecuador. The Auk: Ornithological Advances, 135(4), 1146-1171. https://doi.org/10.1642/AUK-18-58.1 Download date: 29. Sep. 2021 A striking, critically endangered, new species of hillstar (Trochilidae: Oreotrochilus) from the southwestern Andes of Ecuador Author(s): Francisco Sornoza-Molina, Juan F. Freile, Jonas Nilsson, Niels Krabbe, and Elisa Bonaccorso Source: The Auk, 135(4):1146-1171. Published By: American Ornithological Society https://doi.org/10.1642/AUK-18-58.1 URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1642/AUK-18-58.1 BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. BioOne provides a sustainable online platform for over 170 journals and books published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses. Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Web site, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance of BioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/page/terms_of_use. Usage of BioOne content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non-commercial use. Commercial inquiries or rights and permissions requests should be directed to the individual publisher as copyright holder. BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions, research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research. Volume 135, 2018, pp. 1146–1171 DOI: 10.1642/AUK-18-58.1 RESEARCH ARTICLE A striking, critically endangered, new species of hillstar (Trochilidae: Oreotrochilus) from the southwestern Andes of Ecuador Francisco Sornoza-Molina,1 Juan F. Freile,2,3* Jonas Nilsson,2,4 Niels Krabbe,5 and Elisa Bonaccorso6,7* 1 Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Quito, Ecuador 2 Comite´ Ecuatoriano de Registros Ornitologicos´ (CERO), Tumbaco, Ecuador 3 Instituto BIOSFERA, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Cumbaya´, Ecuador 4 Wildsumaco Lodge, Cumbaya´, Ecuador 5 Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Denmark 6 Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Instituto BIOSFERA, Laboratorio de Biolog´ıa Evolutiva, and Colegio de Ciencias Biologicas´ y Ambientales, Cumbaya´, Ecuador 7 Centro de Investigacion´ de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Clima´tico, Universidad Tecnologica´ Indoamerica,´ Quito, Ecuador * Corresponding authors: Juan F. Freile, [email protected]; Elisa Bonaccorso, [email protected] Submitted April 10, 2018; Accepted July 22, 2018; Published September 26, 2018 ABSTRACT We describe a new species of the genus Oreotrochilus from the southwestern Andes of Ecuador. The new species is most similar in adult male plumage to O. stolzmanni and O. chimborazo. However, male and female show unique combinations of plumage characters that are likely to act as social signals. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA indicate that this new taxon is closely related to O. stolzmanni and O. melanogaster, whereas genetic distances and preliminary comparisons of vocalizations suggest a sister relationship with O. stolzmanni. The geographic distribution of the new species seems to be restricted to cordillera Chilla-Tioloma-Fierro Urcu, in the southwestern highlands of Ecuador, an area historically poorly explored by ornithologists. Thus, based on its restricted distribution, apparently low population size, and lack of protection of its habitat, we evaluate it as critically endangered. Keywords: Andes, Oreotrochilus, southwest Ecuador, sp. nov., Trochilidae Una sorprendente y cr´ıticamente amenazada especie nueva de estrella (Trochilidae: Oreotrochilus) de los Andes suroccidentales de Ecuador RESUMEN Describimos una nueva especie del genero´ Oreotrochilus de los Andes suroccidentales de Ecuador. Esta nueva especie se asemeja en plumaje de macho adulto a O. stolzmanni y O. chimborazo. Sin embargo, macho y hembra muestran una combinacion´ unica´ de caracter´ısticas de plumaje que probablemente actuan´ como senales˜ sociales. Los ana´lisis filogeneticos´ basados en ADN mitocondrial muestran que la nueva especie esta´ ma´s emparentada con O. stolzmanni y O. melanogaster, mientras que las distancias geneticas´ y un ana´lisis preliminar de vocalizaciones sugieren que es especie hermana de O. stolzmanni. La distribucion´ geogra´fica de esta nueva especie esta´ al parecer confinada a las cordilleras de Chilla-Tioloma-Fierro Urcu, en los Andes del suroeste de Ecuador, en un a´rea historicamente´ poco explorada desde el punto de vista ornitologico.´ En base a su distribucion´ muy restringida, aparente bajo tamano˜ poblacional y la falta de proteccion´ en sus ha´bitats, la calificamos como cr´ıticamente amenazada. Palabras clave: Oreotrochilus, sp. nov., Trochilidae, Andes, suroccidente de Ecuador INTRODUCTION hummingbirds because of their preference for high-elevation habitats along the Andes, among the highest in the Hummingbirds represent one of the most spectacular avian Trochilidae, which is accompanied by behavioral (Pearson radiations of the New World. With more than 340 species 1953, Carpenter 1976) and physiological (French and Hodges (Clements et al. 2017), they occur from sea level up to 5,000 1959, Carpenter 1974) adaptations to low temperatures. m a.s.l. in a range of habitats as different as tropical rain, Their geographic range spans from extreme southern deciduous, and cloud forests, Andean shrub, puna, paramo, Colombia to southern Chile and Argentina, occupying mangrove, and desert oasis (Schuchmann and Bonan 2017). paramo environments near the equator, and puna and arid Hillstars of the genus Oreotrochilus are peculiar among plateaus southwards (Schuchmann and Bonan 2017). Q 2018 American Ornithological Society. ISSN 0004-8038, electronic ISSN 1938-4254 Direct all requests to reproduce journal content to the AOS Publications Office at [email protected] F. Sornoza-Molina, J. F. Freile, J. Nilsson, et al. New Oreotrochilus from southwest Ecuador 1147 According to Remsen et al. (2018), the genus Oreo- May 7, 2017, by F.S.M. confirmed that this Oreotrochilus trochilus includes 5 species: O. chimborazo (extreme was not assignable to any known taxon in the genus. southern Colombia to south central Ecuador); O. estella Later, on May 22–26, 2017, F.S.M., J.F.F., and J.N. visited (extreme southern Ecuador to northern and central Peru, the same locality with the aim to collect specimens of this and southern Peru to northern Chile, Bolivia, and northern unique population. Capturing effort consisted of 9 mist Argentina); O. melanogaster (south central Peru); O. adela nets (6 3 3mand93 3 m; 2 mm mesh) opened during 3 (Bolivia to extreme northern Argentina); and O. leuco- full days, 0630 hours through 1730 hours. A second pleurus (extreme southern Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile) expedition to the area was undertaken on July 10–13, (Schuchmann and Bonan 2017). The monophyly of the 2017, by F.S.M. and J.N. Field observations were made in genus is well established but the status and validity of some the northern part of Cordillera de Chilla (July 10), as well taxa have been debated. Fjeldsa˚ and Boesman (2017) as west of Guanaza´n, in Cordillera de Tioloma (July 11). consider the northern populations of O. estella (O. estella On July 13, F.S.M. and J.N. visited a Chuquiraga jussieui stolzmanni) from Ecuador, northern and central Peru as a stand 3.9 km E of Refugio de Cerro de Arcos, setting up 5 separate species, based on plumage differences. This mist nets (12 3 3m,2mmmesh)thatwereopenedfrom proposal has been considered as potentially valid by 1000 hours through 1600 hours. Additionally, on June 5– Clements et al. (2017) and Remsen et al. (2018), based 9, 2017, J.N. visited the east-central region of the on molecular evidence showing that O. estella stolzmanni Cordillera de Tioloma, making field observations only, is more closely related to O. melanogaster than to O. and F.S.M. visited 5 localities along the paramos of estella estella (McGuire et al. 2014). Further, O. chimbor- Lagunillas-Piura-Podocarpus (along the continental di- azo and O. leucopleurus have been regarded as subspecies vide of the Andes) and one at the Cuenca-Ona˜ road of O. estella (Zimmer 1951), whereas O. estella bolivianus (between the Giron´ and Leon´ rivers) in search of the new has also been ranked as full species (Peters 1945). Here, we taxon. Finally, on April 7–9, 2018, F.S.M. and N.K. adopt the classification of Remsen et al. (2018), but obtained sound recordings and photographs of the new recognize O. stolzmanni as a valid species (as per Fjeldsa˚ taxon in and near Cerro de Arcos (including the second and Boesman 2017). collecting locality), and of O. stolzmanni above Jimbura, Recent fieldwork in the highlands at the border of El in Zamora-Chinchipe province. Here, we also present Oro and Loja provinces, southwest Ecuador, revealed the observations from 2 localities