Astrapia splendidissima Rothschild

Astrapia splendidissima Rothschild, 1895c: 59, pl. 5 (said to have come from the foot of the Charles Louis Mountains in Dutch New Guinea).

Now Astrapia splendidissima splendidissima Rothschild, 1895 . See Mayr, 1962d: 192; Gilliard, 1969: 147–151; Cracraft, 1992: 21–22; Frith and Beehler, 1998: 253–257; and Frith and Frith, 2009b: 467.

HOLOTYPE: AMNH 678036, [adult male], reportedly from the foot of the Pegunungan Tiyo (= Charles Louis Mountains), 04.00S, 135.30E (USBGN, 1982), Papua Province, Indonesia (formerly Dutch New Guinea), purchased from the plume dealer van Renesse van Duivenbode. From the Rothschild Collection.

COMMENTS: Rothschild had the single specimen when he named this form. Because van Renesse van Duivenbode was careless in recording locality data for specimens he sold, and in several cases, including this one, specimens matched those collected later in the Weyland Mountains, the assumption has been that he had people working for him in those mountains (see Amblyornis inornatus mayri and Loboparadisea sericea above).

Cracraft (1992: 21) considered A. splendidissima a phylogenetic species, with forms helios and elliotsmithorum synonyms. Frith and Beehler (1998: 254–255) and Frith and Frith (2009b: 467) considered A. splendidissima polytypic, recognizing A. s. helios with elliotsmithorum a synonym.