Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Orthokaryota
Cladus: Neokaryota
Cladus: Scotokaryota
Cladus: Podiata
Cladus: Amorphea
Cladus: Obazoa
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Cladus: Filozoa
Cladus: Choanozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: ParaHoxozoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Olfactores
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Cladus: Eugnathostomata
Cladus: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Cladus: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Cladus: Sauropsida
Cladus: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Neodiapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Cladus: Archelosauria
Cladus: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crocopoda
Cladus: Archosauriformes
Cladus: Eucrocopoda
Cladus: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Cladus: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Subclassis: Aves
Infraclassis: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Columbimorphae
Ordo: Columbiformes
Familia: Columbidae
Subfamilia: Treroninae
Genus: Alectroenas
Species (5): A. madagascariensis – A. pulcherrima - A. sganzini – †A. nitidissima – †A. payandeei
Name
Alectroenas G.R. Gray, 1840
References
Gray, G.R. 1840. A list of the genera of birds, with an indication of the typical species of each genus, compiled from various sources. 80 pp. Richard and John Taylor (London). BHL DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.13777 Reference page. p.58
Links
ION [needs update]
Nomenclator Zoologicus
The blue pigeons are a genus, Alectroenas, of birds in the dove and pigeon family Columbidae. They are native to islands in the western Indian Ocean.
Taxonomy and evolution
The genus Alectroenas was first described in 1840 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray with the Mauritius blue pigeon (Alectroenas nitidissimus) as the type species.[1][2] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek alektruōn, meaning "domestic cock", and oinas, meaning "pigeon".[3]
The Alectroenas blue pigeons are closely interrelated and occur widely throughout islands in the western Indian Ocean. They are allopatric and can therefore be regarded as a superspecies.[4] There are three extant species: the Madagascar blue pigeon, the Comoros blue pigeon, and the Seychelles blue pigeon.[5] The three Mascarene islands were home to one species each, which are all extinct; the Mauritius blue pigeon, the Rodrigues blue pigeon, and the Réunion blue pigeon.[6] The blue pigeons perhaps colonised the Mascarenes, the Seychelles or a now submerged hot spot island by "island hopping" and evolved into a distinct genus there before reaching Madagascar.[7] Their closest genetic relative is the cloven-feathered dove, Drepanoptila holosericea, of New Caledonia, which they separated from 8–9 million years ago.[8] Their ancestral group appears to be the fruit doves (Ptilinopus) of Southeast Asia and Oceania.[9]
The genus contains four extant or recently extinct species:[10]
† Mauritius blue pigeon (Alectroenas nitidissimus) extinct
Madagascar blue pigeon (Alectroenas madagascariensis)
Comoros blue pigeon (Alectroenas sganzini)
Seychelles blue pigeon (Alectroenas pulcherrimus)
Two species that became extinct in prehistoric times may have belonged to this genus:
† Rodrigues blue pigeon (Alectroenas payandeei)
† Réunion blue pigeon (Alectroenas sp.)
The Rodrigues pigeon (Nesoenas rodericana), now extinct, was once assigned to the genus Alectroenas, but this is now believed to be erroneous. In reality, it probably belongs to an undescribed genus, as the sternum's shape is very dissimilar in its details to that of Alectroenas or Columba, and indeed to any other living genus of pigeons and doves. It is most similar to that of the Gallicolumba ground doves or to a miniature version of the sternum of a Ducula imperial pigeon.
Description
Compared to other pigeons, the blue pigeons are medium to large, stocky, and have comparatively long wings and tails. They all have distinct mobile hackles on the head and neck. The tibiotarsus is comparatively long and the tarsometatarsus is short.[11]
References
Gray, George Robert (1840). A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus. London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 58.
Peters, James Lee, ed. (1937). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 3. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 40.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Goodwin, D. 1983, Pigeons and Doves of the World, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.
Shelley, G. E. (1883). "On the Columbidae of the Ethiopian Region". Ibis. 5th series. 1 (3): 258–331. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1883.tb07172.x.
Hume, J. P.; Walters, M. (2012). Extinct Birds. London: A & C Black. pp. 134–136. ISBN 978-1-4081-5725-1.
Cheke, A. S.; Hume, J. P. (2008). Lost Land of the Dodo: an Ecological History of Mauritius, Réunion & Rodrigues. New Haven and London: T. & A. D. Poyser. pp. 22–115. ISBN 978-0-7136-6544-4.
Pereira, S. L.; Johnson, K. P.; Clayton, D. H.; Baker, A. J. (2007). "Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences support a Cretaceous origin of Columbiformes and a dispersal-driven radiation in the Paleogene". Systematic Biology. 56 (4): 656–672. doi:10.1080/10635150701549672.
Shapiro, B.; Sibthorpe, D.; Rambaut, A.; Austin, J.; Wragg, G. M.; Bininda-Emonds, O. R. P.; Lee, P. L. M.; Cooper, A. (2002). "Flight of the Dodo" (PDF). Science. 295 (5560): 1683. doi:10.1126/science.295.5560.1683. Supplementary information (HTML abstract) Free PDF Archived 2006-09-25 at the Wayback Machine Supplementary information
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Pigeons". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
Hume, J.P. (2011). "Systematics, morphology, and ecology of pigeons and doves (Aves: Columbidae) of the Mascarene Islands, with three new species". Zootaxa. 3124 (1): 1–62. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3124.1.1. First page
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