Tuesday 16 April 2013

Chalcophaps indica (Linnaeus, 1758)

NOTE: Vertebrate taxonomy is in a constant state of flux as vertebrate specialists (not mentioning any names, but it's always the ornithologists)  compete to make their taxon seem the most topical and diverse. Precise taxonomy, particularly regarding orders and below, and in the region where birds, mammals and the various other groups or amniotes split, remains unsatisfactorily resolved. This taxonomy, therefore, while influenced by genetic studies that I consider valid, is in parts both subjective and outdated. 

Now that you've skimmed past the small print, let's dive into the taxonomy at the really deep (and I do mean precambrian) end. 

Eukaryota - the species has a nuclear membrane, a DNA based genetic system, and may be multicellular.
  Animalia - the species is not a plant, fungus or a member of the various protist (single celled or simple-tissued organisms) kingdoms
    Eumetazoa - the animal is not a sponge, and probably has (or evolved from something with) multiple, complex tissue layers.
      Bilateralia - the animal has two-way symmetry at some stage in its life, as opposed to the radial symmetry of corals, anemones, jellyfish and friends...
        Nephrozoa - possibly excludes some marine flatworm-like creatures. Possibly a redundant level. Who knows?
           Deuterostomia - a member of the group containing vertebrates, sea-urchins and friends...
            Chordata - not a sea-urchin. Has a 'spinal' chord, but not necessarily a spine. Includes  sea-squirts, which lose this chord as they metamorphose into adults.
             Craniata - has a clear head.
              Vertebrata - has a backbone. Not a hagfish (which just has a sort-of backbone...)
                Gnathostomata - has jaws. Not a lamprey (which is almost identical to a hagfish, but has a true spine, but still no jaws...
                  Teleostomi - has - or evolved from something with - an operculum, which basically means that gills can pull water through them. So not a shark, ray, chimaera or guitarfish.
                    Osteichthyes - a bony fish. To my knowledge, the only difference between this and Teleostomi is that a group of extinct, shark-like fishes is excluded.
                      Sarcopterygii - lobe-finned fishes. Traditionally, this included only the lungfish and coelocanths. Be prepared for the first real curve-ball of evolutionary taxonomy.
                        Tetrapoda - four-legged creatures and their descendants. And yes, based on the evolutionarily unhelpful term "Fish", every species vertebrate and one invertebrate (hagfish) could be correctly identified as a fish. So apologise to any child you told that the Whale Shark was the biggest fish because, biologically, blue whales really are fish. But that's mostly because the word Fish is really not a useful definition of anything, and should really be redefined to only include the Acanthopterygii (ray-finned fishes). As an interesting aside, much as the word Conch was originally used to describe any large, shelled creature in the sea, crabs included, fish originally meant everything that lives in the sea.

Anyway, Tetrapoda. Four legged creatures and their descendants.
                          Reptiliomorpha - Excludes the amphibians (frogs, salamanders, caecilians), but includes some extinct groups which might be incautiously described as amphibians, as well as all other extant
                            Amniota - excludes said extinct groups. Marks a very important point in vertebrate taxonomy - the (more-or-less) watertight egg, which allowed vertebrates to truly conquer the land (although a Sri Lankan radiation of tree-frogs has evolved a similarly watertight egg to hatch directly into a froglet, allowing a second independence from the water. Watch this space...)
                              Reptilia - in my mind a fairly contentious group, but currently includes all Amniotes except the Synapsids, a complex-skulled group of (VERY) reptile-like animals which gave rise to Mammals.
                                Romeriida - traditionally, the point at which the Anapsids (tortoises, turtles and their ilk) split off from the reptilian lineage. However, a few recent genetic studies have indicated that the Anapsids and Archosaurs (see below) are in fact sister groups, so the validity of this grouping comes into question, as do both Diapsida and
                                  Sauria, which usually includes, lizards, birds, tuataras and their various extinct relatives.
                                    Archosauromorpha - the point at which the Lepidosauromorphs, that is to say the lizards (including snakes) and their extinct relatives, have split off from the bird and crocodile lineages.
                                      Archosauria - birds, crocodiles and their many extinct relatives.
                                        Avemetatarsalia - not crocodiles.
                                          Dinosauria - if you don't know what group this is, your childhood was wasted. Dinosaurs. Great big, lumbering reptiles (and some little darty ones) that were a dominant group in the megafauna of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, and to a lesser extent in the earlier Triassic period (which was mostly dominated by extinct relatives of modern tortoises).
                                            Saurischia - Lizard hipped dinosaurs.
                                              Therapoda - the clade that included most, if not all, known predatory dinasaurs (a couple of primitive Sauropoda are of uncertain diet).
                                                Tetanurae - the "Stiff Tailed" therapods - excludes the Dilophosaurids (funky crested dinosaur which envenomated Nedry in Jurassic Park) and a few other primitive dinosaur groups.
                                                  Coelurosauria - the clade that includes the fan favourites such as Tyrannosaurus Rex and the various Raptors.
                                                     Maniraptora - excludes T-Rex, but includes Deinonychus, Velociraptor and (by now rather old) curveball, Archaeopteryx, often thought of as the first bird. Also includes all the modern dinosaur lineages - all of which are neatly contained in:
(moving this descending sequence so that it doesn't move off the page...)
Aves. Any young earth creationists are invited to take a few breaths and consider taking the bible in historical context, or just skim down to the picture. Kudos in reading this far into an evolutionary phylogeny, though.
  Euornithes - excludes a few more extinct groups...
    Neornithes - excludes the last toothed birds. Sad times. A moment of silence for all the lineages we've lost along the way, please.
...
....
      Neognathae - excludes, for the first time in a while, an extant (still going reasonably strong) group: the Paleognathae, comprised of the Struthioniformes, Tinamiformes, Rheiformes, and Casuariformes and closely allied Apterygiformes. Translation - the Ostriches (one species), Tinamous (the only flying Paleognaths... a couple of dozen species), Rheas (2 species), Cassowaries and Emus (four species) and the Kiwis (Five species)
        Neoaves - excludes a (currently more successful) extant lineage, the Galloanserae (waterfowl, pheasants and allies), but includes the vast majority of modern birds. Although the name literally means "New Birds", a good few of the orders of birds included here have been around for 65+ million years, and therefore are stretching the definition of New to its very limits.
          Columbiformes - one of the larger orders of birds, containing around three hundred species (although compared to the 5000 or more passerine birds, that's not all that many).
            Columbidae - the only family currently held within the Columbiformes, comprising the pigeons or doves. Although a large number of species are limited to tiny ranges, the Rock Dove, Columba livia, also known as the feral pigeon, through its exploitation of human developments as new nesting sites, has become one of the most widespread and successful birds in the world.
              Turturinae - subfamily name made up, to more tidily describe the (not made up) grouping of the Bronze-wings and relatives.

Chalcophaps indica (Linnaeus 1758)

(Common emerald Dove) 

Chalcophaps indica (Linnaeus 1758). Amazon World, Isle of Wight, UK, April 2013

Excusing the grainy image, this rather lovely specimen resides at Amazon World, an almost entirely indoor zoo on the Isle of Wight, UK, which has also had unusual success in the breeding of various Xenarthrans (Sloths, Anteaters and Armadillos, in a mammalian superorder almost entirely confined to South America). 

The lovely Common Emerald Dove is a smallish pigeon, similar in size to European collared doves (although calling males can appear enormous with their vocal sacs inflated and their feathers puffed out). They are native to a large area of South Asia, Indonesia and surrounding islands, and parts of Australia, and are currently listed as Least Concern.

This specimen is part of a Aviary population in Amazon World Zoo Park, on the Isle  of Wight (UK), where they seem to be breeding without interference.

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