Horned curassow
| Horned curassow | |
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Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Cracidae |
| Genus: | Pauxi |
| Species: | P. unicornis
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| Binomial name | |
| Pauxi unicornis | |
| Subspecies | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Thehorned curassow(Pauxi unicornis), orsouthern helmeted curassow,is a species ofbirdin the familyCracidaefound in humid tropical and subtropical forests. It was first described byJames BondandRodolphe Meyer de Schauenseein 1939 from a specimen collected in Bolivia, and further birds that were described from Peru in 1971 were thought to be a new subspecies. However, the taxonomical position (as subspecies or independent species) of the birds found in Peru in 1971 is unclear. The horned curassow as originally described is endemic to Bolivia.[2]It is a large, predominantly black bird with a distinctive casque on its forehead. It is an uncommon bird with a limited range and is suffering from habitat loss, and theInternational Union for Conservation of Naturehas rated its conservation status as being "critically endangered".
Taxonomy and systematics
[edit]In 1937 while in Bolivia Mr M. A. Carriker found two birds, a male and female, which were in thecracidfamily. The specimens were subsequently described as a new species by James Bond and Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee in 1939 and given the scientific namePauxi unicornisplacing it in a genusPauxialongside the speciesP. pauxi.[3]In 1969 another two birds, again a male and female were discovered which resembled those found by Mr. Carriker in 1937. However this time they were found in Peru a long way from the previousP. unicornisdiscoveries in Bolivia. These Peruvian specimens were described by John Weske and John Terborgh in 1971 as a new subspecies ofP. unicorniswhich they named in honour ofMaria Koepcke.[3]
Although the consensus at the time of discovery forP. unicornisto be a species with two subspecies in the genusPauxi,many different suggestions have been made since. Some suggestions relate to the grouping of species and subspecies within the genusPauxi.In 1943 Wetmore and Phelps described a new subspecies of the closely relatedP. pauxicalledP. p. gilliardi.When Wetmore and Phelps looked at the threePauxiforms known at the time, they concluded thatP. p. gilliardiwas an intermediate form betweenP. pauxiandP. unicornis.As a result of this they grouped all three forms into a single species withunicornisbecoming a subspecies ofpauxi.[4][5]This position was subsequently rejected byCharles Vauriewho argued thatP. pauxiandP. unicorniswere not conspecific. When Weske and Terborgh discovered the subspecieskoepckeaethey concludedpauxiandunicornisshould be considered separate species.[3][5]Additional studies by Gastañaga and coauthors in 2011 consideredkoepckeaeto be a wholly distinct species on the basis of a somewhat smaller and more triangular crest and different vocalisations.[6]Gastañagaet al.also coined the nameSira curassowas an English name for the bird in their 2011 paper;[6]the name used by the local inhabitants for the bird ispiuri.[7]
Other taxonomic suggestions discuss whether the genusPauxishould stand alone or be grouped with other genera. In 1965 François Vuilleumier suggested thePauxispecies should be moved into a single genus alongside all the other species in the closely related generaMitu,CraxandNothocrax.Just two years later Charles Vaurie opposed this 'lumping' of species and argued thatPauxi,Mitu,CraxandNothocraxshould each be their own genera.[4]Not content with either of these two options Delacour and Amadon suggested thatPauxiandMitushould indeed be grouped withCrax,but thatNothocraxwas distinct enough to be its on genus. Many subsequent authors followed Vaurie, Delacour and Amadon in havingNothocraxas a sister clade toPauxi,MituandCrax,while most have followed Vaurie in having the three other clades as three distinct genera.[3][5][8]
Mitochondrial analysis conducted in 2004 suggests thatP. unicornisis a sister species toMitu tuberosum,while the otherPauxispecies,P. pauxi,is sister to the combinedMituandP. unicornisclade. This means the genusPauxiis notmonophyleticbutparaphyletic,and to resolve thisparsimoniouslythe genusPauxishould be sunk into synonymy withMitu.[8]The paraphyly ofPauxicould be due toincomplete lineage sorting,where a gene tree is inconsistent with its species tree, however this phenomenon should be less prevalent in deep phylogenetic splits (i.e. between genera). Because of this, Pereiraet al.conclude incomplete lineage sorting is unlikely to account for the paraphyleticPauxigenera because, according to their own analysis,MituandPauxidiverged approximately 6.5mya.[8]
Description
[edit]The horned curassow is among the largest cracid species. It measures 85 to 95 cm (33 to 37 in) in length.[9]Body mass in large males is up to 3.7 to 3.9 kg (8.2 to 8.6 lb) and only thegreat curassowis heavier amongst the cracids, although theblack curassowand the closely relatedhelmeted curassoware around the same length.[10]Among standard measurements, thewing chordis 38.1 to 40.2 cm (15.0 to 15.8 in), thetailis 31 to 34.8 cm (12.2 to 13.7 in) and thetarsusis 10 to 10.8 cm (3.9 to 4.3 in).[10]It has a distinctive horn orcasqueon the forehead which projects for over 6 cm. The plumage is generally black, but lacks a blue sheen in primary feathers, and has a white belly, thigh tufts and under-tail coverts. The tail also has white tips.[5]
Status
[edit]The horned curassow is threatened byhabitat loss.Until 2004 the horned curassow was classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List due to a small and declining population, but was changed to Endangered in 2005 due to an estimated smaller range and greater risk from human activities.[11]In Bolivia the potential habitat of subspeciesP. unicornis unicornismay cover an area of 4,000 km2including the national parks:Amboró,CarrascoandIsiboro Sécure.Despite concentrated fieldwork there are many parts of this potential habitat in which no individuals have been found, for example the most north west 2,000 km2.[11]
References
[edit]- ^BirdLife International (2018)."Pauxi unicornis".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2018:e.T45090397A126746836.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T45090397A126746836.en.Retrieved16 November2021.
- ^Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015.The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015.Downloaded fromhttp:// birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- ^abcdWeske, J.S.; Terborgh, J.W. (1971)."A New Subspecies of Curassow of the GenusPauxifrom Peru "(PDF).The Auk.88(2): 233–238.doi:10.2307/4083876.JSTOR4083876.S2CID87421719.
- ^abVaurie, C. (1967). "Systematic notes on the bird family Cracidae, 10. The generaMituandPauxiand the generic relationships of the Cracini ".American Museum Novitates(2307): 1–20.hdl:2246/3507.
- ^abcdCox, G.; Read, J.M.; Clarke, R.O.S. & Easty, V.S. (1997)."Studies of Horned CurassowPauxi unicornisin Bolivia ".Bird Conservation International.7(3): 199–211.doi:10.1017/S0959270900001532.
- ^abGastañaga-C., M.; MacLeod, R.; Brooks, D.M.; Hennessey, B. (2011)."Distinctive morphology, ecology, and first vocal descriptions of Sira Curassow (Pauxi [unicornis] koepckeae): evidence for species rank "(PDF).Ornitol. Neotrop.22:267–279. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2013-06-05.Retrieved2013-03-29.
- ^Gastañaga, M.; Hennessey, A.B (2005)."Uso de información local para reevaluar la población de Pauxi unicornis en Perú"(PDF).Cotinga(in Spanish).23:18–22.
- ^abcPereira, S.L.; Baker, A.J. (2004)."Vicariant speciation of curassows (Aves, Cracidae): a hypothesis based on mitochondrial DNA phylogeny".Auk.121(3): 682–694.doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[0682:VSOCAC]2.0.CO;2.S2CID86320083.
- ^Horned CurassowPauxi unicornis.BirdLife International
- ^abHughes, Nigel (2006)Curassows, Guans and Chachalacas,Wildside Books (UK),ISBN0905062264
- ^abMacLeod, Ross; Soria, Rodrigo; Gastañaga, Melvin (2006). "Horned Curassow (Pauxi unicornis) ". In Brooks, D.M. (ed.).Conserving Cracids: The most Threatened Family of Birds in the Americas(PDF).Miscellaneous Publications of The Houston Museum of Natural Science, Number 6.ISBN0-9668278-2-1.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2008-10-06.Retrieved2010-11-26.
Further reading
[edit]- Graham, J.G. (2009)."A new specimen of Southern Horned Curassow Pauxi unicornis from Peru"(PDF).Cotinga.31:73.
- Hennessey, A.B. (2004a)Conservation presentations to Tacana communities within the last Bolivian site of the Wattled Curassow (Crax globulosa).Bol. CSG 19: 9–13.
- Herzog, H.K.; Kessler, M. (1998). "In search of the last Horned CurassowsPauxi unicornisin Bolivia ".Cotinga.10:46–48.
- Maillard O.Z. (2006)."Reciente Espécimen de la Pava Copete de Piedra (Pauxi unicornis) para Bolivia "[Recent specimen of Southern Helmeted Curassow (Pauxi unicornis) for Bolivia](PDF).Kempffiana(in Spanish).2(1): 95–98.
- Mee, A. (1999)Habitat association and notes of the Southern Helmeted Curassow (Pauxi unicornis) in the Yungas of Cochbamba, Bolivia.Bol. CSG 9: 16–19.
- Pereira, S.L.; Baker, A.J.; Wajntal, A. (2002)."Combined nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences resolve generic relationships within the Cracidae (Galliformes, Aves)".Systematic Biology.51(6): 946–958.doi:10.1080/10635150290102519.PMID12554460.
- Tobias, J.A.; del Hoyo, J. (2006)."Birding in Bolivia: putting two rare curassows on the map"(PDF).Neotropical Birding.1:61–65. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2011-07-14.
External links
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