Thinornis
Thinornis is a genus of plovers, comprising two species, both threatened with extinction. It is sometimes considered a synonym of Charadrius. The hooded dotterel is endemic to Australia and has a total population numbering in the thousands. The shore plover is endemic to New Zealand and in danger of extinction, with less than 300 birds.
| Thinornis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Shore plover (Thinornis novaeseelandiae) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Charadriidae |
| Subfamily: | Charadriinae |
| Genus: | Thinornis G.R. Gray, 1844 |
| Type species | |
| Charadrius novaeseelandiae (shore plover) Gmelin, JF, 1789 | |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
Taxonomy
The genus Thinornis was introduced in 1844 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray to accommodate a single species, Thinornis rossii G.R. Gray, which is now considered a junior synonym of Charadrius movaeseelandiae J.F. Gmelin, the shore plover.[1][2] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek this meaning "beach" or "sand" with ornis meaning "bird".[3]
The genus contains two species:[4]
- Hooded dotterel or hooded plover (Thinornis cucullatus) – endemic to southern Australia
- Shore plover or shore dotterel (Thinornis novaeseelandiae) – endemic to New Zealand
A third species, the Auckland Islands shore plover (Thinornis rossii), known from just one specimen collected in 1840, is now generally considered to be a juvenile shore plover whose location was incorrectly recorded.[5]
Gallery
Shore plover
Hooded plover
References
- Gray, George Robert (1844). "Birds". In Richardson, John; Gray, John Edward (eds.). The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror, Under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, During the Years 1839-43. Vol. 1: Mammals and Birds. London: E. W. Janson. pp. 1–20 [11–12].
- Peters, James Lee, ed. (1934). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 257.
- Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 384. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2022). "Buttonquail, thick-knees, sheathbills, plovers, oystercatchers, stilts, painted-snipes, jacanas, Plains-wanderer, seedsnipes". IOC World Bird List Version 12.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- Gill, Brian J.; Bell, B. D.; Chambers, G. K.; Medway, D. G.; Palma, R. L.; Scofield, R. P.; Tennyson, A. J. D.; Worthy, T. H. (2010). Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand (4th ed.). Wellington, N.Z.: Te Papa Press. ISBN 978-1-877385-59-9.
Further reading
- Les Christidis, Walter Boles: Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing. 2008. ISBN 978-0-643-06511-6