Solomon Islands Frogmouth

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Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
(unranked)	Cypselomorphae?
Order:	Caprimulgiformes (disputed)
Family:	Podargidae
Genus:	Rigidipenna Cleere et al, 2007
Species:	R. inexpectata

Binomial name

Rigidipenna inexpectata
(Hartert, 1901)

Synonyms

Podargus ocellatus inexpectatus

The Solomon Islands Frogmouth Rigidipenna inexpectata is a bird that was first described in 1901 but not recognized as highly distinct until 2007.^[1] A team from the Florida Museum of Natural History collected a specimen on Santa Isabel Island in 1998. It is the only known member of the genus Rigidipenna.

The species was discovered by two Florida Museum of Natural History ornithologists, Drs Andrew Kratter and David Steadman, with the aid of local hunters. Steadman states of the find: "This discovery underscores that birds on remote Pacific islands are still poorly known, scientifically speaking."^[2]

At first the bird was thought to be a subspecies of the Australian Marbled Frogmouth Podargus ocellatus, until 1998 when Kratter led a successful collecting expedition on Santa Isabel Island.

The Solomon Islands Frogmouth differs in several ways from other frogmouths, for instance in having only eight tail feathers instead of the more usual ten or twelve, and also in having coarser feathers. It also has barred primary feathers and tail feathers, larger speckles and more pronounced white spots.

Storrs Olson, a senior zoologist at the Smithsonian Institution, states: "That this should prove to be such a distinctive new genus...has profound biogeographical implications and represents a real breakthrough in elucidating the evolutionary history of the family."

[edit] References

^ Cleere et al. 2007. A new genus of frogmouth (Podargidae) from the Solomon Islands – results from a taxonomic review of Podargus ocellatus inexpectatus Hartert 1901. Ibis 149:271-286
^ University of Florida News - UF scientists discover new genus of frogmouth bird in Solomon Islands