Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap

Autores
Areta, Juan Ignacio; Piacentini, Vítor de Q; Haring, Elisabeth; Gamauf, Anita; Silveira, Luís Fábio; Machado, Erika; Kirwan, Guy M.
Año de publicación
2016
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Known with certainty solely from a unique male specimen collected in central Brazil in the first quarter of the 19th century, the Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) Hooded Seedeater Sporophila melanops has been one of the great enigmas of Neotropical ornithology, arguably the only one of a host of long-lost species from Brazil to remain obstinately undiscovered. We reanalysed the morphology of the type specimen, as well as a female specimen postulated to represent the same taxon, and sequenced mitochondrial DNA (COI and Cyt-b) from both individuals. Furthermore, we visited the type locality, at the border between Goiás and Mato Grosso, and its environs on multiple occasions at different seasons, searching for birds with similar morphology to the type, without success. Novel genetic and morphological evidence clearly demonstrates that the type of S. melanops is not closely related to Yellow-bellied Seedeater S. nigricollis, as has been frequently postulated in the literature, but is in fact a representative of one of the so-called capuchinos, a clade of attractively plumaged seedeaters that breed mostly in the Southern Cone of South America. Our morphological analysis indicates that S. melanops has a hitherto unreported dark-coffee throat and that it is probably a Dark-throated Seedeater S. ruficollis collected within its wintering range, acquiring breeding plumage and showing melanism on the cap feathers. Alternatively, it may be a melanistic-capped individual of a local population of seedeaters known to breed in the Esteros del Iberá, Corrientes, Argentina, to which the name S. ruficollis might be applicable, whilst the name S. plumbeiceps might be available for what is currently known as S. ruficollis. A hybrid origin for S. melanops cannot be ruled out from the available data, but seems unlikely. The purported female specimen of S. melanops pertains either to S. nigricollis or to Double-collared Seedeater S. caerulescens based on genetic and morphological data, and thus cannot be a female of S. melanops. We conclude that Sporophila melanops is not typical of any natural population of seedeaters, appears to have been collected far from its breeding grounds while overwintering in central Brazil, and should not be afforded any conservation status.
Fil: Areta, Juan Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentina
Fil: Piacentini, Vítor de Q. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil
Fil: Haring, Elisabeth. Universidad de Viena; Austria
Fil: Gamauf, Anita. Universidad de Viena; Austria
Fil: Silveira, Luís Fábio. Universidad de Viena; Austria
Fil: Machado, Erika. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil
Fil: Kirwan, Guy M.. The Field Museum; Estados Unidos
Materia
SPOROPHILA
EXTINCT
SEEDEATER
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/47898

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network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic CapAreta, Juan IgnacioPiacentini, Vítor de QHaring, ElisabethGamauf, AnitaSilveira, Luís FábioMachado, ErikaKirwan, Guy M.SPOROPHILAEXTINCTSEEDEATERhttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1Known with certainty solely from a unique male specimen collected in central Brazil in the first quarter of the 19th century, the Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) Hooded Seedeater Sporophila melanops has been one of the great enigmas of Neotropical ornithology, arguably the only one of a host of long-lost species from Brazil to remain obstinately undiscovered. We reanalysed the morphology of the type specimen, as well as a female specimen postulated to represent the same taxon, and sequenced mitochondrial DNA (COI and Cyt-b) from both individuals. Furthermore, we visited the type locality, at the border between Goiás and Mato Grosso, and its environs on multiple occasions at different seasons, searching for birds with similar morphology to the type, without success. Novel genetic and morphological evidence clearly demonstrates that the type of S. melanops is not closely related to Yellow-bellied Seedeater S. nigricollis, as has been frequently postulated in the literature, but is in fact a representative of one of the so-called capuchinos, a clade of attractively plumaged seedeaters that breed mostly in the Southern Cone of South America. Our morphological analysis indicates that S. melanops has a hitherto unreported dark-coffee throat and that it is probably a Dark-throated Seedeater S. ruficollis collected within its wintering range, acquiring breeding plumage and showing melanism on the cap feathers. Alternatively, it may be a melanistic-capped individual of a local population of seedeaters known to breed in the Esteros del Iberá, Corrientes, Argentina, to which the name S. ruficollis might be applicable, whilst the name S. plumbeiceps might be available for what is currently known as S. ruficollis. A hybrid origin for S. melanops cannot be ruled out from the available data, but seems unlikely. The purported female specimen of S. melanops pertains either to S. nigricollis or to Double-collared Seedeater S. caerulescens based on genetic and morphological data, and thus cannot be a female of S. melanops. We conclude that Sporophila melanops is not typical of any natural population of seedeaters, appears to have been collected far from its breeding grounds while overwintering in central Brazil, and should not be afforded any conservation status.Fil: Areta, Juan Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; ArgentinaFil: Piacentini, Vítor de Q. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Haring, Elisabeth. Universidad de Viena; AustriaFil: Gamauf, Anita. Universidad de Viena; AustriaFil: Silveira, Luís Fábio. Universidad de Viena; AustriaFil: Machado, Erika. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Kirwan, Guy M.. The Field Museum; Estados UnidosPublic Library of Science2016-05-11info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/47898Areta, Juan Ignacio; Piacentini, Vítor de Q; Haring, Elisabeth; Gamauf, Anita; Silveira, Luís Fábio; et al.; Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap; Public Library of Science; Plos One; 11; 5; 11-5-2016; 1-15; e01542311932-6203CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0154231info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0154231info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-03T10:08:52Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/47898instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-03 10:08:52.371CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap
title Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap
spellingShingle Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap
Areta, Juan Ignacio
SPOROPHILA
EXTINCT
SEEDEATER
title_short Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap
title_full Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap
title_fullStr Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap
title_full_unstemmed Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap
title_sort Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Areta, Juan Ignacio
Piacentini, Vítor de Q
Haring, Elisabeth
Gamauf, Anita
Silveira, Luís Fábio
Machado, Erika
Kirwan, Guy M.
author Areta, Juan Ignacio
author_facet Areta, Juan Ignacio
Piacentini, Vítor de Q
Haring, Elisabeth
Gamauf, Anita
Silveira, Luís Fábio
Machado, Erika
Kirwan, Guy M.
author_role author
author2 Piacentini, Vítor de Q
Haring, Elisabeth
Gamauf, Anita
Silveira, Luís Fábio
Machado, Erika
Kirwan, Guy M.
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv SPOROPHILA
EXTINCT
SEEDEATER
topic SPOROPHILA
EXTINCT
SEEDEATER
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Known with certainty solely from a unique male specimen collected in central Brazil in the first quarter of the 19th century, the Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) Hooded Seedeater Sporophila melanops has been one of the great enigmas of Neotropical ornithology, arguably the only one of a host of long-lost species from Brazil to remain obstinately undiscovered. We reanalysed the morphology of the type specimen, as well as a female specimen postulated to represent the same taxon, and sequenced mitochondrial DNA (COI and Cyt-b) from both individuals. Furthermore, we visited the type locality, at the border between Goiás and Mato Grosso, and its environs on multiple occasions at different seasons, searching for birds with similar morphology to the type, without success. Novel genetic and morphological evidence clearly demonstrates that the type of S. melanops is not closely related to Yellow-bellied Seedeater S. nigricollis, as has been frequently postulated in the literature, but is in fact a representative of one of the so-called capuchinos, a clade of attractively plumaged seedeaters that breed mostly in the Southern Cone of South America. Our morphological analysis indicates that S. melanops has a hitherto unreported dark-coffee throat and that it is probably a Dark-throated Seedeater S. ruficollis collected within its wintering range, acquiring breeding plumage and showing melanism on the cap feathers. Alternatively, it may be a melanistic-capped individual of a local population of seedeaters known to breed in the Esteros del Iberá, Corrientes, Argentina, to which the name S. ruficollis might be applicable, whilst the name S. plumbeiceps might be available for what is currently known as S. ruficollis. A hybrid origin for S. melanops cannot be ruled out from the available data, but seems unlikely. The purported female specimen of S. melanops pertains either to S. nigricollis or to Double-collared Seedeater S. caerulescens based on genetic and morphological data, and thus cannot be a female of S. melanops. We conclude that Sporophila melanops is not typical of any natural population of seedeaters, appears to have been collected far from its breeding grounds while overwintering in central Brazil, and should not be afforded any conservation status.
Fil: Areta, Juan Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentina
Fil: Piacentini, Vítor de Q. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil
Fil: Haring, Elisabeth. Universidad de Viena; Austria
Fil: Gamauf, Anita. Universidad de Viena; Austria
Fil: Silveira, Luís Fábio. Universidad de Viena; Austria
Fil: Machado, Erika. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil
Fil: Kirwan, Guy M.. The Field Museum; Estados Unidos
description Known with certainty solely from a unique male specimen collected in central Brazil in the first quarter of the 19th century, the Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) Hooded Seedeater Sporophila melanops has been one of the great enigmas of Neotropical ornithology, arguably the only one of a host of long-lost species from Brazil to remain obstinately undiscovered. We reanalysed the morphology of the type specimen, as well as a female specimen postulated to represent the same taxon, and sequenced mitochondrial DNA (COI and Cyt-b) from both individuals. Furthermore, we visited the type locality, at the border between Goiás and Mato Grosso, and its environs on multiple occasions at different seasons, searching for birds with similar morphology to the type, without success. Novel genetic and morphological evidence clearly demonstrates that the type of S. melanops is not closely related to Yellow-bellied Seedeater S. nigricollis, as has been frequently postulated in the literature, but is in fact a representative of one of the so-called capuchinos, a clade of attractively plumaged seedeaters that breed mostly in the Southern Cone of South America. Our morphological analysis indicates that S. melanops has a hitherto unreported dark-coffee throat and that it is probably a Dark-throated Seedeater S. ruficollis collected within its wintering range, acquiring breeding plumage and showing melanism on the cap feathers. Alternatively, it may be a melanistic-capped individual of a local population of seedeaters known to breed in the Esteros del Iberá, Corrientes, Argentina, to which the name S. ruficollis might be applicable, whilst the name S. plumbeiceps might be available for what is currently known as S. ruficollis. A hybrid origin for S. melanops cannot be ruled out from the available data, but seems unlikely. The purported female specimen of S. melanops pertains either to S. nigricollis or to Double-collared Seedeater S. caerulescens based on genetic and morphological data, and thus cannot be a female of S. melanops. We conclude that Sporophila melanops is not typical of any natural population of seedeaters, appears to have been collected far from its breeding grounds while overwintering in central Brazil, and should not be afforded any conservation status.
publishDate 2016
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2016-05-11
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/47898
Areta, Juan Ignacio; Piacentini, Vítor de Q; Haring, Elisabeth; Gamauf, Anita; Silveira, Luís Fábio; et al.; Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap; Public Library of Science; Plos One; 11; 5; 11-5-2016; 1-15; e0154231
1932-6203
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/47898
identifier_str_mv Areta, Juan Ignacio; Piacentini, Vítor de Q; Haring, Elisabeth; Gamauf, Anita; Silveira, Luís Fábio; et al.; Tiny Bird, Huge Mystery - The Possibly Extinct Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops) Is a Capuchino with a Melanistic Cap; Public Library of Science; Plos One; 11; 5; 11-5-2016; 1-15; e0154231
1932-6203
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
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info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0154231
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
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dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
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dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Public Library of Science
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Public Library of Science
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reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
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instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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