The Cuban bullfinch (Melopyrrha nigra) is a species of songbird belonging to the genus Melopyrrha. It is a member of the tanager family Thraupidae falls under the subfamily Coerebinae, which also includes Darwin's finches.

Cuban bullfinch
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thraupidae
Genus: Melopyrrha
Species:
M. nigra
Binomial name
Melopyrrha nigra
Synonyms
  • Loxia nigra (protonym)
  • Loxigilla nigra
  • Pyrrhulagra nigra

Distribution and habitat

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The Cuban bullfinch (Melopyrrha nigra) is an endemic species found exclusively in Cuba. Its natural habitats include subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, as well as heavily degraded former forests. The IUCN categorizes it as a near threatened species due to its vulnerable status.

Taxonomy

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The Cuban bullfinch was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Loxia nigra.[2] Linnaeus based his short description on Mark Catesby's "The Little Black Bullfinch" and Eleazar Albin's "Black Bullfinch ".[2][3][4] The type location is Cuba.[5] The specific epithet nigra is Latin meaning "black".[6] The Cuban bullfinch is now one of three species placed in the genus Melopyrrha that was introduced in 1853 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte.[7][8] The Grand Cayman bullfinch (M. taylori) found on the Cayman Islands was once considered a subspecies, but is now considered a full species by IUCN and BirdLife International.

References

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  1. ^ BirdLife International (2020). "Melopyrrha nigra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T103813101A180216283. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T103813101A180216283.en. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 175.
  3. ^ Catesby, Mark (1729–1732). The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands (in English and French). Vol. 1. London: W. Innys and R. Manby. p. 68, Plate 68.
  4. ^ Albin, Eleazar; Derham, William (1738). A Natural History of Birds : Illustrated with a Hundred and One Copper Plates, Curiously Engraven from the Life. Vol. 3. London: Printed for the author and sold by William Innys. p. 65, Plate 69.
  5. ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 151.
  6. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 270. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  7. ^ Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1853). "Notes sur les collections rapportées en 1853, par M. A. Delattre, de son voyage en Californie et dans le Nicaragua: Troisième communication - Passereux Conirostres". Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences (in French). 37: 913–925 [924].
  8. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2020). "Tanagers and allies". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
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