Alejandro Selkirk firecrown
| Alejandro Selkirk firecrown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Alejandro Selkirk firecrown | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Sephanoides |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | †S. f. leyboldi |
| Trinomial name | |
| †Sephanoides fernandensis leyboldi Gould, 1880 | |
| Synonyms | |
| Eustephanus leyboldi Gould, 1880-1887 | |
The Alejandro Selkirk firecrown (Sephanoides fernandensis leyboldi) is an extinct subspecies of the Juan Fernández firecrown that lived on Alejandro Selkirk Island in the Juan Fernández Archipelago belonging to Chile.[1]
Taxonomy
Most worldwide taxonomic systems accept this species as putative. However, a few authors question this subspecies and whether a firecrown ever existed on Alejandro Selkirk Island.[2]
Extinction
The Alejandro Selkirk firecrown may have went extinct due to deforestation, erosion and predation by introduced cats, rats, goats, and rabbits.[3] It might have also competed with the introduction of plants such as Luma apiculata, as well as the green-backed firecrown. It was last seen in 1908, but the sighting was unconfirmed.[3]
References
- ^ HBW and BirdLife International (2020) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB] retrieved 31 January 2025
- ^ Johow, Federico. (2007). El picaflor de la Isla de Masafuera: ¿subspecie extinta, nunca existió o mistery bird? / The Hummingbird of the Masafuera Island: extinct subspecies, never existed or Mystery Bird? Boletín Chileno de Ornitología 13: 28-41. [in Spanish with English summary]
- ^ a b Hume, Julian P. (2017): Extinct Birds. Bloomsbury Publishing, 560 pages.