Rowettia goughensis

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: 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
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Passeroidea

Familia: Thraupidae
Genus: Rowettia
Species: Rowettia goughensis
Name

Rowettia goughensis (Clarke, 1904)

Type locality: Gough Island

Synonyms

Nesospiza goughensis (protonym)
Nesospiza jessiae Clarke, 1904

References

Clarke, W.E. 1904. New species of birds from Gough Island discovered during the voyage of the Antarctic ship 'Scotia'. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 15: 18–19 BHL. London.Reference page.

Links

IUCN: Rowettia goughensis (Critically Endangered)

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Gough-Ammer
English: Gough Bunting
español: Yal de Gough
français: Rowettie de Gough
magyar: Gough-sármánypinty
Nederlands: Gough-eilandgors
русский: Гофская овсянка-роветтия
svenska: Goughfink

The Gough finch (Rowettia goughensis) or Gough bunting, is a critically endangered species of songbird.

Taxonomy

The Gough finch was formally described in 1904 by the British ornithologist William Eagle Clarke from a specimen collected on Gough Island in the South Atlantic. Clarke coined the binomial name Nesospiza goughensis.[2] The Gough finch is now the only species placed in the genus Rowettia that was introduced in 1923 by the English ornithologist Percy Lowe.[3][4] The genus name was chosen to honour John Quiller Rowett, an English businessman and the sponsor of the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition.[5] The Gough finch was traditionally considered to be a bunting in the family Emberizidae,[6] but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that it is a member of the subfamily Diglossinae in the tanager family Thraupidae and is sister to a clade containing birds in the genus Melanodera.[7] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[4]

Another species of finch was described from Gough Island, Nesospiza jessiae, in 1904. This species was later identified as a juvenile of the Gough finch.[3]
Description

The Gough finch is 22 to 26 cm (8.7–10.2 in) in length and weighs 50–56 g (1.8–2.0 oz).[8]
Distribution and habitat

It is endemic to the remote Gough Island, part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, and nearby stacks, in the South Atlantic. Its natural habitats are temperate shrubland and subantarctic grassland.
The immature was described as Nesospiza jessiae
Status and conservation

It was formerly classified as a Vulnerable species by the IUCN.[1] But new research has shown that its population has collapsed and it is on the verge of extinction due to the introduced population of house mice (Mus musculus), noted for its unusual aggressiveness,[9] competing with the birds for food and eating their eggs and nestlings. Consequently, it was uplisted to Critically Endangered in 2008.[1]
References

BirdLife International (2017). "Rowettia goughensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22723149A119142383. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22723149A119142383.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
Clarke, W. Eagle (1904). "Nesospiza goughensis, n. sp". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 15: 18.
Lowe, Percy R. (1923). "Notes on some land birds of the Tristan da Cunha group collected by the 'Quest' expedition". Ibis. 65 (3): 511-528 [512]. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1923.tb08110.x.
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2020). "Tanagers and allies". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 338. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 112.
Burns, K.J.; Shultz, A.J.; Title, P.O.; Mason, N.A.; Barker, F.K.; Klicka, J.; Lanyon, S.M.; Lovette, I.J. (2014). "Phylogenetics and diversification of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 75: 41–77. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.006.
Ryan, P. & Sharpe, C.J. (2017). Gough Finch (Rowettia goughensis). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/62039 on 28 March 2017).

Wanless, R.M.; Angel, A.; Cuthbert, R.J.; Hilton, G.M.; Ryan, P.G. (2007). "Can predation by invasive mice drive seabird extinctions?" (PDF). Biology Letters. 3 (3): 241–244. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0120. PMC 2464706. PMID 17412667.

Further reading
Rand, A. L. (1955). "The origin of the land birds of Tristan da Cunha". Fieldiana Zoology. 37: 139–166.
Vuilleumier, F (1991). "A Quantitative Survey of Speciation Phenomena in Patagonian Birds" (PDF). Ornitologia Neotropical. 2: 20–21.