Corvus corax canariensis Hartert and Kleinschmidt

Lecroy, Mary, 2014, Type Specimens Of Birds In The American Museum Of Natural History Part 12. Passeriformes: Ploceidae, Sturnidae, Buphagidae, Oriolidae, Dicruridae, Callaeidae, Grallinidae, Corcoracidae, Artamidae, Cracticidae, Ptilonorhynchidae, Cnemophilidae, Paradisaeidae, And Corvidae, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2014 (393), pp. 1-165 : 135

Corvus corax canariensis Hartert and Kleinschmidt

Corvus corax canariensis Hartert and Kleinschmidt, 1901: 45 (Palma) .

Now Corvus corax canariensis Hartert and Kleinschmidt, 1901 . See Hartert, 1901a: 326; Hartert, 1919: 125–126; Vaurie, 1954b: 22–23; Cramp et al., 1994: 206–223; Dickinson, 2003: 514–515; Baker and Omland, 2006: 174–178; and dos Anjos, 2009: 638–639.

HOLOTYPE: AMNH 674976 , adult male, collected on La Palma Island , 28.40N, 17.50W (Times Atlas), Canary Islands, undated, by Scott Wilson. From the Rothschild Collection.

COMMENTS: Hartert and Kleinschmidt made it clear in the original description that they had only the holotype and that Hartert had seen an additional four specimens in Liverpool. They did not mention that the holotype had been skinned from spirits, although this is written on the Rothschild label. Also, strangely, no mention is made in the description or by Hartert (1903d: 6, 1919: 125–126) of the bizarre appearance of this type (see fig. 1 ). Almost all the feather vanes have been eaten away—by insects or chemicals?—until hardly any part of the feather is left except the shaft. Wing and tail measurements given in the original description could not have included this specimen if it was already in this condition. There is also no remark in the AMNH catalog to indicate its condition, nor did Meinertzhagen (1926: 102) or Vaurie (1954b: 22–23, 1959: 176) mention any peculiarity. There is also no indication of insect infestation among corvid types or other corvid specimens in AMNH, except minor damage in a few specimens that had originally been part of the Brehm Collection. The condition of this specimen remains a mystery.

The four paratypes are in LIVCM, all from the H.B. Tristram Collection, collected between 1888 and 1890, one each from La Palma, Gomera, Hierro, and Tenerife, none of which have any obvious peculiarities (T. Parker, personal commun.).

Baker and Omland (2006) found that Canary Island ravens have mtDNA distinct from that of their ‘‘Holarctic clade.’’ They had no specimens from North Africa, but included Canary Island birds in the subspecies tingitanus, without mentioning the Canary Islands subspecies, canariensis, which is still recognized by many authorities (e.g., Dickinson, 2003: 515) and more recently dos Anjos (2009: 638–639).

Figures

Fig. 1. Holotype of Corvus corax canariensis Hartert and Kleinschmidt, 1901, showing extensive damage to plumage due to chemical or insect damage.