Proposal (902) to South
American Classification Committee
Recognize
Ortalis remota Pinto, 1960 (Silveira et al.
2017) as a species
Background: From SACC notes: “Ortalis guttata remota Pinto, 1960, was treated
by Vaurie (1965a) as a synonym of Ortalis
[guttata] squamosa (sic), and this was followed by all subsequent
classifications.”
New
Information:
Silveira et al. (2017) studied the subspecies of Ortalis guttata (Spix, 1825), including the frequently neglected O. g. remota
Pinto, 1960, a taxon described based on a single
specimen from SE Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil.
In
total, Silveira et al. (2017) examined the single known skin (the
holotype) and 24 photos of O. g. remota, 20
skins and 1402 photos of O. squamata, 18 skins and 562 photos of O.
araucuan and 242 skins and 168 photos of O. guttata (including O.
g. subaffinis).
Among
the specimens analyzed were also some topotypes of O. g. subaffinis
Todd, and the holotypes of Penelope guttata Spix (= O. g. guttata)
and Ortalida squamata Lesson, the
latter one being relocated at MNHN, Paris.
The
distribution of Ortalis remota occupies a geographically intermediate position
between its related taxa, i.e. the Amazonian O. guttata, the Atlantic O.
squamata and O. araucuan, and
perhaps another one, the peripheral Chaco representative O. canicollis. It is probably an endemic of the central region of
the “Bosque Paranaense” Province, an area severely
modified even before adequate biological inventories could be taken (Silveira et
al. 2017). Despite on its taxonomic status, O. remota
was recently declared as a Critically Endangered taxon in the Official Red
Lists of Brazil and São Paulo State.
Through
the analysis of museum specimens and photos of all members of this complex, the
authors performed a plumage analysis and showed that O. g. remota differ consistently from all
other members of the genus currently treated as distinct, valid species, and O. remota must
be recognized as a distinct taxon with a very restricted range on the upper
Paraná River, SE. Brazil.
Recommendation: Based on the morphological and distributional
information, we recommend a "YES" vote to accepting this chachalaca
as a new biological species to the South American list.
References:
Pinto, O.M.O. (1960) Algumas adendas a avifauna brasileira. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, 14, 11–15.
Silveira, L. F., B. M. Tomotani, C. Cestari, F. C.
Straube, and V. Q. Piacentini. (2017) Ortalis remota:
a forgotten and critically endangered species of chachalaca (Galliformes:
Cracidae) from eastern Brazil. Zootaxa 4306: 524-536.
Vaurie, C. (1965a)
Systematic notes on the bird family Cracidae. No. 3. Ortalis guttata,
Ortalis superciliaris, and Ortalis motmot. American Museum
Novitates 2232: 1-21.
Luis Fabio Silveira
& Fernando Pacheco, January
2021
Comments
from Lane:
“YES, simply to remain consistent with the various
recently-split Ortalis.”
Comments from Stiles: “A tentative YES, if only to bring
this taxon into line with the general
pattern of allopatric replacements in this genus. However, I’d like to consult
the Silveira et al. paper to get a better feeling for the data, especially as
regards plumage etc. Is it true that the holotype of remota
is still the only specimen known?”