Phonygammus aruensis Cracraft

Phonygammus aruensis Cracraft, 1992: 10 (Sq. Wanoem Bay, Kobror Island, Aru Islands, West Irian).

Now Phonygammus keraudrenii aruensis Cracraft, 1992 . See Diamond, 1972: 326–327; Nunn and Cracraft, 1996; Frith and Beehler, 1998: 229– 240; Dickinson, 2003: 516; and Frith and Frith, 2009b: 464.

HOLOTYPE: AMNH 677414, adult male, collected on Sungai (= Sg. as on label), Wanoembai, 06.02S, 134.18E (Frith and Beehler, 1998: 571), Kobror Island, Aru Islands, Papua Province (= West Irian), Indonesia, on 2 September 1900, by Heinrich Kühn (no. 2499). From the Rothschild Collection.

COMMENTS: Cracraft listed the AMNH number of the holotype in the original description and noted that he had four additional specimens in his type series, all collected by Kühn. The paratypes are: Trangan Island, Aru Islands, AMNH 677411 (Kühn’s no. illegible), male, 14 September 1900 ; Sungai Wanoembai, Kobror Island, Aru Islands, AMNH 677412 (2500), AMNH 677413 (2498), AMNH 677415 (2497) three males, 3–4 September 1900 .

The species Phonygammus keraudrenii was included in the genus Manucodia by Diamond (1972: 307–308), and this has been followed by Coates (1990: 437–439), Frith and Beehler (1998: 229) and Frith and Frith (2009b: 464), but the genus Phonygammus has been retained by Cracraft (1992: 10), Nunn and Cracraft (1996), Schodde and Mason (1999: 525–526), and Dickinson (2003: 516). Recognition of Phonygammus is followed here.

Described as a phylogenetic species by Cracraft, aruensis has been included as a subspecies of Phonygammus keraudrenii by Dickinson (2003: 516) and as a subspecies of Manucodia keraudrenii by Frith and Beehler (1998: 232–233) and Frith and Frith (2009b: 464).

Sungai Wanoem Bay is the narrow strait that separates Kobror Island from Wokam Island in the Aru Islands.